Community Health Initiative by University Students (CHIUS)

TitleCommunity Health Initiative by University Students (CHIUS)
Faculty/College/UnitMedicine
StatusCompleted
Duration1 Year
Initiation04/01/2008
Completion03/31/2009
Project Summary

CHIUS is an inter-professional student-run organization operating out of the Downtown Community Health Clinic (DCHC) and Vancouver Native Health (VNH), both located within Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Founded in 1998, the clinics were designed to provide health science students with opportunities for service learning while helping to meet the needs of this marginalized community by providing greater access to health care on the weekends. A typical shift at CHIUS would involve student volunteers from any of the ten professional health programs at University of British Columbia. Volunteers deliver primary care to patients under the direct supervision of a physician, a faculty member or a registered nurse. In this environment, students learn from each other, the professionals on staff and from the patients themselves. Also we have a variety of programs that help a specific group, e.g. Beauty Nights, Foot Care events and Pharmacy brown bag event, hypertension screening, dental screening, health literacy education workshops for street youth, and a series of workshops on reproductive health for at risk women. The clinic operates keeping five main objectives in mind: service, learning, inter-professionalism, reflection and student leadership.

Funding Details
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year2008/2009
Year 1: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorPeter Granger
Year 1: Funded Amount42,370
Year 1: Team Members

Peter Granger, Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Andrew Thamboo, Student, Medicine / CHIUS Co-Chair
Florina Feng, Student, Pharmaceutical Sciences / CHIUS Co-Chair
William Lau, Student, Pharmaceutical Sciences / CHIUS Funding Co-Chair
Ali-Reza Merali, Student, Medicine / CHIUS Funding Co-Chair
Daniel Yokom, Student, Medicine / DCHC Clinic Coordinator
Angela Law, Student, Medicine / VNH Clinic Coordinator
Andrea Thamboo, Student, Medicine / VNH Clinic Coordinator
Sean Nixon, Student, Health Care and Epidemiology, Medicine / CHIUS Co-Chair Elect