It's easy to spot a Health Leads volunteer.
They wear clearly marked blue shirts.
And they can be found at the family help desk at the pediatric clinic at Hasbro Children's Hospital.
Or sometimes they're reaching out to patients' families in the hospital's emergency room.
"Every day, patients come into this clinic and get prescriptions for antibiotics or asthma medications when at home they have no food in the refrigerator or there's mold growing on their walls or their kids don't have healthy activities after school. And those social conditions affect their medical outcomes," said Adam Shvetich, executive director of Health Leads Rhode Island.
The program got its start in Boston in 1996. A year later, it expanded to Providence and now is in a handful of other cities.
Many of the volunteers are pre-med from Brown University and work closely with the chief of clinical affairs, Dr. Patricia Flanagan.
"You know I make a referral to the (gastrointestinal) clinic if I have a child with stomach problems," she said. "I make a referral to Health Leads if I have a family who has other needs."
Each family that comes into the pediatric clinic fills out a form that asks non-clinical questions: Do they have enough food to feed their family? How is a family's housing situation? The form is then turned into their doctor.
Based on need, the doctor prescribes services. The form is then turned over to the college volunteers.
Health Leads serves about 1,400 active families a year. And the need is growing.
"I came in pre-med, but what really stayed with me working at the desk was seeing all the social and economic situations that families find themselves in that really impacts their health but aren't being addressed in the health care system," said Health Leads volunteer Amy Traber.
"I think it will give me a better understanding of what health actually means. So I won't just be treating patients from a science perspective," said Health Leads volunteer Nicole Damari.
They're also trying to connect families to services.
"I think seeing the things we are able to see at the hospital, hearing the stories we are able to hear makes a difference in the way I can see the world, and the way I think I act in it, and that is something really rewarding," said Health Leads volunteer Jacob Murray.
Hasbro Children's Hospital helps fund the program locally.
Recently, the Physicians Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to Health Leads which, in addition to Providence, is prominent in five other cities across the U.S.
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