Division Chief
The Division of Outreach Medicine includes programs that provide patient care services outside of the walls of WMed Health including Street Medicine Kalamazoo (SMKzoo) and the Firehouse Clinic. Not everyone is able to receive care in the most traditional office-based manner, so these programs bring care to those most in need to promote health equity so that everyone has a chance to be as healthy as possible.
The division aims to provide the tools necessary to make community outreach efforts at WMed successful, streamlining the process in which medical professionals can volunteer with these programs, and establishing meaningful partnerships with community organizations.
Programs
Street Medicine Kalamazoo (SMKzoo) offers healthcare services for people who are unhoused, living on the streets, in encampments, in shelters and other temporary housing. Launched in January 2021 by medical students, resident physicians, and attending physicians from the medical school, SMKzoo takes medical care directly to people, meeting them where they are and caring for them with compassion and respect.
The Firehouse Clinic is a student-run clinic formed in partnership with Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries (KGM) that aims to increase access to healthcare for those struggling in and around the Kalamazoo community. Launched in August 2024 inside the city’s former Fire House No. 4 at 526 N. Burdick St., the free clinic is staffed by medical student volunteers from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on the first and third Fridays of each month.
