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Portland

School of Pharmacy faculty and students resume clinics for Bath Housing after pandemic break

Student Alexa Michaud checks a patient's medication
School of Pharmacy student Alexa Michaud checks a patient's medication (Photo courtesy of Bath Housing)
Read about it in the Times Record

After a year-long break because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hailey Choi, Pharm.D., assistant clinical professor in the School of Pharmacy, and some of her students recently resumed free clinics for residents of Bath Housing, an organization that works to provide stable housing for seniors, families and individuals with disabilities.

The clinic was recently featured in the Times Record.

“We set up a blood pressure clinic for them and then we talked with them about their medications,” Choi explained. “Oftentimes they will bring all of their medication bottles so we can take a look at them, answer any questions, go through them to ensure that they are taking them all properly and not experiencing any adverse effects.”

In 2015, UNE partnered with Mid Coast Medical Group – Bath as a way to provide integrated pharmacy experiences within the practice, as well as serve as a teaching site for pharmacy students. Choi has been an integral part of this partnership, as she provides both clinical services and on-site education at the Bath practice, while also teaching pharmacy courses at UNE’s Portland Campus.

“I am practicing here at their internal medicine office as a clinical pharmacist specializing in diabetes management and I take students with me to get clinical experience,” Choi said.
“So, they are basically doing everything with me, seeing patients, educating them, and following up with them. We do a lot of medication counseling, patient education and medication adjustments.”

As part of her work on the mid-coast, Choi brings students to Bath Housing for clinics every six weeks. She typically takes about a dozen students to work at the clinics each year.

“When we go out into the community and meet patients where they are at their place, the patients definitely feel more comfortable talking with us and they open up more,” Choi stated.

Bath Housing was able to reinstate the clinics after 70% of the residents became fully vaccinated.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.