Centro Medico clinic opens doors to provide medical services to underserved

It’s been nearly a decade in the making, but Centro Medico, a new clinical space, has opened its doors and will offer services to underserved populations in Augusta. The new Augusta clinic is located at 904 Merry St. and will serve as home to about 10 different clinics.

The project has been spearheaded by William Salazar, MD, president of Asociación Latina de Servicios del CSRA (ALAS) and medical director of Clinica Latina.

For the past eight years, Augusta University’s College of Nursing has let the clinic use space, but the clinic was hoping to expand its services, had outgrown the space and always wanted to do more.

“It’s been a work of love and effort and a wonderful team collaboration,” said Salazar. “In this new building, we’re going to have seven medical offices. We’re going to have a large conference room, and we’re going to have a check-in and check-out area,” which the previous space did not include, he added.

“It was time to have our own space, and we can potentially have more clinics and just have a home, per se, where our patients know where we’re at,” said Luke Guy, Clinica Latina head coordinator and second-year medical student at the Medical College of Georgia.

“We’re really fortunate to get to be the coordinator team that actually gets to see this transition and get to be part of it,” said Alvaro Cortez, second-year medical student. “Just to know that we’re setting up this new clinic and a brand-new space that will help cater to more patients in the community. Then to have that foundational groundwork already set for the next group of students who are coming in.”

For the past several months, they have been renovating the new location, and current patients have volunteered their time to get the building ready. The services provided mean that much to the community.

“One story that just speaks to how well or how much this matters to the patient, is we have a long-standing patient that has been seen in the clinic for many years, and he helped paint the entirety of the inside of the clinic,” said Guy.

Having this new location in the community is impactful for everyone. For the patients, the stand-alone building will offer longer office hours and more services. It also means more hands-on experience for the students, which will go a long way toward helping them become doctors one day. 

The clinic having its own building means the staff can make sure it’s set up exactly like they want, to maximize the services they will be able to provide.

“No question about that and it’s our clinic. And the beauty of working with med students, PA and other College of Allied Health Sciences students, is that they have a sense of ownership, and we’ll provide the best care that we can to our patients,” Salazar said.

Alvaro added, for some patients, this clinic almost becomes their primary care provider. Medical students get to know them and have a better understanding of what health concerns they are facing.

“As medical students like us, it’s a great privilege that we’re hoping to have a patient one day come to our office and want to see you and you have to take care of them. So getting to do that now, it gives us a chance to see what the future holds,” said Alvaro.

It’s that willingness to help others that drives these students, a fact not lost on Salazar. 

“The majority of med students that come to do medicine, they come because of the passion to care for others. I think having an infrastructure like Centro Medico allows them to really fulfill their dreams. It’s an opportunity for them to really show their colors that they really care for the underprivileged,” said Salazar.