Student-run Clinic Effect on Emergency Department Utilization (SCEEDU): An Analysis of the DAWN Clinic Impact in Colorado

Background. Student-run free clinics (SRFCs) provide care to medically underserved individuals who may otherwise utilize the emergency department (ED) for primary care. Objective. Evaluate the effect of enrollment at the DAWN SRFC in Aurora, Colorado on University of Colorado ED utilization. Methods. Th is was a retrospective longitudinal analysis of 164 patients who established care at the DAWN clinic and were also seen at the nearby ED over an eight-year period. A paired t-test was used on the full cohort and a linear mixed effects model was used on a guaranteed at-risk subset with ED visits before and aft er care initiation at the DAWN clinic. Results. Average ED visits decreased from 1.48 to 0.95 for the full cohort (p=.0002). In the guaranteed at-risk subset, a 0.98 visit decrease per person (p=.0217) was observed. Conclusions. Patient enrollment at the DAWN clinic was associated with a statistically significant reduction in all-cause ED visits.