Community Outreach

UB HEALS

UB HEALS team member.

A UB HEALS team member checks on the welfare of a homeless man in downtown Buffalo.

This nonprofit, student-run program is a street medicine outreach initiative whose mission is to increase access to health care among the homeless population of Buffalo, New York.

UB HEALS (Homeless health, Education, Awareness and Leadership in Street medicine) seeks to address the unique medical and psychosocial needs of the homeless population while providing a valuable educational experience for medical students.

Two nights a week, medical students and faculty, in partnership with social workers and registered nurses from the Matt Urban Hope Center, travel on foot or by van to participate in direct street outreach to the homeless population.

The teams are equipped with backpacks of basic medical gear, snacks, blankets and other necessities. When interacting with individuals, teams encourage them to take advantage of available medical services and social services, with the goal of helping them get off the street.

More About UB HEALS

UB HEALS in the Media

  • When a bus station becomes a doctor's waiting room [WBFO]
    12/22/21
    WBFO spoke to Peter Kowalski, clinical assistant professor of family medicine in the Jacobs School, in a story about how UB medical school students are hitting the streets to help provide low-level medical care to the homeless. As part of the UB HEALS program, students try to assist homeless people with basic needs and a health check-up, often done on the streets or in the downtown bus station. Kowalski said he takes students around in the summer as well to show them where to find people who are homeless and offer their skill and care. “Some of them have other doctors. But, yes, we do a little primary care for them,” Kowalski said. “We check their blood pressure. We check their sugar. We look at their rashes. We look at their feet. We provide them with the socks and the hats and the gloves and some of the clothing they need for the outside.”
  • UB holds foot clinic for homeless on Buffalo's west side [Spectrum News]
    11/7/21
    SpectrumNews reported that the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences student-run street medicine group UB HEALS held a foot clinic Saturday for people experiencing homelessness. The piece quotes David Milling, senior associate dean for student and academic affairs, who said, “The foot clinic helps us make sure we identify people with foot problems related to disease or just the weather in Buffalo before it gets too cold.”
  • UB Students Provide Warm Winter Boots for WNY’s Homeless
    12/15/19
    A foot clinic for the homeless was organized by UB HEALS, a student-run organization of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences that aims to increase access to health care for the homeless population of Buffalo while providing educational experience to medical students. Second-year medical student Reema Panjwani said, “We chose medicine as a career to help people, but to be able to take this moment, step outside of the classroom, step outside of the school and to provide that medical care that we learned so much, is humbling.”
  • UB Students Provide Free Medical Care to the Homeless [WGRZ-TV]
    9/25/18
    UB HEALS (Homeless health, Education, Awareness and Leadership in Street medicine), a community outreach program organized by medical students and physicians from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is in the middle of a 60-day online crowdfunding campaign. “This is an extremely humbling experience. So, it brought medicine back to the human aspect of it. And, for those going into medicine, just keep in mind that even though you need to build your resume and you need to build different types of experiences, having an experience that makes you have a human-to-human connection is extremely valuable,” said Lisa Samuels, a second-year medical student who handles fundraising for the organization. 
  • Members Move Medicine: Helping Patients Wherever They Are [AMA Wire]
    6/15/18
    An article on AMA Wire, a publication of the American Medical Association, interviews Moudi Hubeishy, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Class of 2019. Hubeishy is founder and program director for UB HEALS (Homeless health, Education, Awareness and Leadership in Street medicine), a community outreach program being conducted by UB medical students and physicians from the Jacobs School. “The program has won numerous awards and grants, and — more importantly — has reconnected many homeless individuals with the medical and social care they have been looking for, while exposing and educating medical trainees and professionals about the challenges faced by their patients with low socioeconomic status,” he said.
  • Medical Students, Residents Reach Out to Help the Homeless [AAMC News]
    8/22/17
    An article on AAMC News, a publication of the Association of American Medical Colleges, reports on UB HEALS (Homeless health, Education, Awareness and Leadership in Street medicine), a community outreach program being conducted by UB medical students and physicians from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The article interviews David A. Milling, MD, senior associate dean for student and academic affairs, and faculty advisor to the program. The effort gives students “an opportunity to realize that very close to the urban areas they’re used to is a whole different life,” he said.
  • Pair of Grants Earned by UB Heals [Business First]
    6/7/17
    UB Heals, which is dedicated to reconnecting the homeless population with the health-care system, has earned a pair of grants for its efforts. The program won $5,000 in the region’s second Pitch 10 Competition, where nonprofit organizations had a chance to pitch their project or idea. Last month the program won a $9,000 grant from the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Both grants will go toward purchase of a van to provide a private space for clinical consultations and to store medical equipment.
  • Medical Students Take Different Approach to Patient Care [WIVB]
    1/25/17
    WIVB highlighted UB Heals, a street medicine outreach initiative of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The program, founded by third-year medical student Moudi Hubeishy, provides impromptu checkups to people who may not get into clinics very often.

Contact

UB HEALS

Email: ubheals@gmail.com

Websites

How to Volunteer

First- and second-year medical students are encouraged to volunteer.

Email ubheals@gmail.com for more information.

Donate to UB HEALS

We are committed to fostering an open and inclusive environment where all individuals are welcome to participate, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or any other protected characteristic. Participation and access to group activities, benefits, and opportunities are available to everyone, and no decisions regarding membership, leadership, or participation will be made on the basis of protected traits. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination, preferences or quotas of any kind, and we comply fully with all applicable federal, state and local anti-discrimination laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Our policies and practices are designed to ensure equal opportunity and to cultivate a respectful and supportive community for all, without granting preferential treatment or imposing barriers based on any protected characteristic.