It happens every day. People who don’t have health insurance wait until they’re so sick they’re forced to head to an emergency room.

That’s why Mercy and Missouri State University opened the MSU Care Clinic in fall 2015. The clinic serves as a medical home and provides expanded health care access for low-income, uninsured adults aged 18-64 who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid.

The clinic also offers hands-on training for students in health sciences degree programs at Missouri State and provides another window into Missouri State’s public affairs mission by demonstrating community engagement in the Ozarks.

The clinic is located in the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center on the Missouri State campus, and continues the mission of the free clinic at The Kitchen in Springfield by completing almost 3,300 office visits and providing over 17,000 prescriptions during the past 12 months.

In addition to the full-time MSU Care providers and staff, volunteer physicians and community partnerships have made essential contributions to the success of MSU Care.