News and Announcements

• Medical/Legal Partnership - Service Link is working towards a partnership with the Law School that will include the facilitation of Know Your Rights clinics for clients of participating clinics, as well as other services.
• New Volunteer Training - our next training will take place on January 25, 2013 in Huntsman Hall, room F65. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact servicelinkatpenn@gmail.com. You should also fill out an application available here.

Mission

• Service Link's overall mission is to improve the health of low-income patients in Philadelphia by linking them with a variety of benefits that they have a right to attain under current US legislation.
• Service Link focuses on addressing the social determinants of health through education and community engagement.
• Service Link trains public health students, undergraduates, nursing, social work, law and medical students to assist low-income patients to access services that improve health and quality of life (e.g. utilities assistance, specialty referral appointments, SNAP [food stamps] and other public benefits).

To see the conceptual approach for Service Link, click here. Our model builds on a model first initiated by the successful Health Leads program headquartered in Boston. The project has over 20 volunteers and is organized by a medical student graduate group recognized by GAPSA, as well as by an undergraduate student group recognized by CHAC.

Volunteers are trained by representatives of LIFT, the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, the Family Planning Council, and others from Penn.

The Center for Public Health Initiatives supports, helps to manage, and launched this project. Currently volunteers are placed at Sayre Health Center. Starting February 2013, students will also be placed at the J. Edwin Wood Clinic at Pennsylvania Hospital.

Officers

Vishal Arora - Director of Operations and Communication, Clinic Liaison for J. Edwin Wood Clinic
Whitney Buckholz - MPH Program Representative, Clinic Liaison for the Sayre Health Center
Neel Koyawala - Undergraduate/CHAC Representative
Adam Prince - Representative for Penn Law/Toll Center for Public Interest
Jonelle Saunders - Representative for Penn Law/Toll Center for Public Interest
Esha Khurana - Medical School/GAPSA Representative

To see an organizational chart, click here.

Schools

Penn Law School
Penn Perelman School of Medicine
Penn Master of Public Health Program
Undergraduate Programs