Thank you from DOCS

This year has been unlike any other in DOCS history. The ever-changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to be innovative and adapt our infrastructure to continue to serve the medically underserved of South Florida. Without the support of our philanthropic donors, our hardworking students, and our volunteer physicians, this year would not have been possible. At the core of its mission is DOCS’ commitment to providing quality healthcare to the underserved in our community. Despite the challenges of this year, our volunteers remained committed to this mission. On behalf of the Wolfson DOCS family, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who remained steadfast in caring for our communities.

Over the past year, the medically underserved in our community have faced remarkable diffi culties and the need for quality healthcare has been greater than ever before. We had the added challenge of ensuring the health and safety of not only our patients but also the volunteers necessary to operate our clinics and health fairs. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to adapt and make changes to our existing protocols to ensure the safety of both our patients and volunteers. Our volunteers and fellow student leaders rose to the challenge and created innovative ways to continue the DOCS mission.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to call on our volunteers to restructure many of our existing projects and also assist us with projects typically outside the realm of the Wolfson DOCS program. For example, we created new protocols to limit the number of volunteers in each of our weekly clinics, created screening protocols for patients, and utilized telehealth when possible. We created a new appointment-system to replace our usual walk-in style health fairs and were successful in hosting 6 smaller-scale health fairs throughout the year. Our student volunteers were also instrumental in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, working with Jackson Health System leadership at vaccination sites in early 2021.

The unprecedented year has prompted us to refl ect on how much the Wolfson DOCS program has changed our lives as students and future physicians; we personally feel so grateful for the unparalleled experiences that DOCS has given us in the realms of leadership, mentorship, and friendship.

We want to express our gratitude for the incredible generosity of the Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Foundation. Their commitment to the sustainability of the DOCS program allows us to deliver consistent care to the patients in our community while also training the next generation of physician leaders to foster a lifelong commitment to serving the needs of underserved patients.

Lastly, we profusely thank our DOCS faculty advisor, Dr. Amar R. Deshpande, and RMC DOCS faculty advisor, Dr. Julia Belkowitz, for their constant guidance of our program and dedication to its success. We also thank our DOCS Manager and “Mom,” Raysa Christodoulou, whose daily support and assistance to our students cannot be overstated. Finally, we thank the Medical Parents Association. Although we missed them greatly at our health fairs this year due to COVID-19 limitations, their support for our students remained.

While the delivery of care in 2020-2021 was diff erent than it has been for the prior 20 years of our history, we are so proud that our student leaders and volunteers rose to the challenge and created ways to continue the Wolfson DOCS mission. We look forward to the continuing evolution of the program as our community continues to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sincerely,

Sophia Pines Alexa Turpin