The Park City-based clinic was one of 82 organizations that received $1 million from the Yield Giving Fund established by billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott. The sizable grant has allowed the nonprofit, which serves the uninsured, to expand its services in important ways: expanding its hours so patients have more access to care, adding staff and strengthening its focus on the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.
“This can be a silent killer, a lot of people don't know they have diabetes type two especially,” said MaeLin Sorensen, the clinic’s new Diabetes Program Director.
Sorensen, a physician’s assistant, is the clinic’s first designated director of the diabetes program. The position was funded by the grant, which also allowed the clinic to hire four new medical assistants. One will be dedicated to the diabetes program.
The diabetes program was established in 2020 to educate and provide resources to uninsured patients – a group that might not otherwise have access to regular screenings and care.
It was originally managed by Dr. Mairi Leining, now CEO, and later managed by a team effort of full-time providers at the clinic.
The program screens for low blood sugar and then educates patients on how to manage the disease through lifestyle changes.
“What we want to do is teach them how to empower themselves and to take control and say, I can beat this and I can become a healthier version of myself,” Sorensen said.
Diet and exercise are key to fighting diabetes, along with pharmaceuticals, she added.
Because PHC serves the uninsured, access to the latest medicines can be limited, but PHC’s Assistant Medical Director Rachelle Flinn, says there are programs that can help.
"One resource we utilize is taking advantage of programs that the pharmaceutical companies themselves offer to underserved populations, which means you can access free medication, if you qualify according to the program's parameters,” Flinn said.
Sorensen says the People’s Health Clinic is unlike any other she’s worked in, because it allows her time to provide patients more attention.
“This is a clinic, unlike any clinic I've ever been in before. I have time to curate these relationships with the patients and just really feel that I can invest in their health,” said Sorensen.
The clinic’s expanded hours includes evening hours three days a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays until 8 p.m.
For more information on the People’s Health Clinic services, visit https://peopleshealthclinic.org/
