USA Student-Run Free Clinic open to serve Mobile community
Posted on April 22, 2026 by Lindsay Hughes
The University of South Alabama Student-Run Free Clinic (SRFC) recently reopened its doors, bringing back essential care for vulnerable populations in the greater Mobile community and experiential training for future healthcare providers. The clinic, based at the Salvation Army in downtown Mobile, officially reopened April 3 following a nearly two-year hiatus.
“This clinic serves a dual mission,” said Noel Godang, a third-year medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine and SRFC president. “We are dedicated to providing accessible care to underserved populations in Mobile, specifically the residents at the Salvation Army, while also providing a vital, hands-on environment for preclinical healthcare students to hone their physical exam and clinical reasoning skills under the guidance of our physician preceptors.”
Interdisciplinary teams — including students from medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, occupational therapy and nursing — collaborate to deliver patient care. Each visit begins with a comprehensive intake, during which students collect medical histories and perform physical exams before presenting cases to a supervising physician to develop an assessment and care plan.
Services include over-the-counter medication dispensing, in-house EKGs and ultrasounds, and point-of-care testing such as blood glucose monitoring. Patients who require more advanced diagnostics or treatment are referred to community partners, including Victory Health Partners and Franklin Primary Health Center.
For students, the clinic provides an early opportunity to bridge the gap between classroom learning and patient care. Second-year medical student Fion Chang, who serves as secretary of SRFC and a clinic coordinator, said the experience is invaluable.
“While we're still in training,” Chang said, “our clinic preceptors walk us through each step on how to improve our techniques, skills, and reasoning to better help our patients. It's such a great way for us to learn and practice what we learned in classes and in books to actual patient care.”
Faculty involvement remains central to that experience. During the reopening session on April 3, Christopher Musselwhite, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine, served as preceptor, guiding students through patient evaluations and care planning.
The clinic’s impact extends beyond direct patient care. Community education is a core pillar of its outreach, Godang said, with students leading sessions designed to improve health literacy and promote preventive care. At the reopening, volunteers hosted a well-attended training on opioid overdose response that included how to administer Narcan.
“We'd like the public to know that we're here to support those in need,” Chang said.
The USA Student-Run Free Clinic is open on weekdays from 2:30 to 5 p.m. It is located at the Salvation Army, 1009 Dauphin St. in Mobile.