On a Saturday in early June, a group of University of Minnesota (UMN) students, faculty, and staff from multiple health care disciplines assembled at First Covenant Church in Duluth to provide an innovative and compassionate approach to health care benefiting people and pets.

The Paws & People Community Care clinic brought together human and veterinary care professionals and students in one location to provide free health services to people experiencing houselessness and their pets. The clinic operated under the One Health approach, which recognizes the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and their shared environment. 

“The human-animal bond is something I feel that is often understated,” says Katia Bastunskaya, veterinary student volunteer and president of the Student Initiative for Reservation Veterinary Services (SIRVS). “It takes a toll on people’s mental health to feel that their pet is suffering because they don’t have the resources to help them get care. Approaching veterinary care and health care with a One Health perspective allows us to care for both ends of the leash and achieve better outcomes for people and pets.”

SIRVS is a UMN College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) student organization that works with tribal communities in Minnesota and South Dakota to provide free wellness and spay/neuter surgery clinics. A dozen SIRVS volunteers joined 17 volunteers from the UMN Medical School’s Street Medicine Initiative and the UMN Mobile Health Initiative (MHI)—all of which aim to bring health care services to underserved communities. Students and faculty from the UMN School of Social Work were also present to offer support and connections to local resources.
 

The clinic day proved to be a busy one for volunteers, with appointment spots for veterinary care filling before the clinic opened, according to Bastunskaya. In total, 32 pets were seen by SIRVS, with 26 receiving comprehensive physical exams and six puppies receiving brief exams.

On the human care side, six individuals elected fluoride treatment, nine chose blood sugar and blood pressure screenings along with consultations, and 15 were given foot care. Additionally, 25 wound care kits were distributed, and 29 people were provided free over-the-counter medications. Patients also left with supplies such as pet food, slip leads, ponchos, toothbrushes and toothpaste, menstrual products, electrolyte powder, sunscreen, and more.

Making an impact

Clinics such as Paws & People Community Care play an important role in increasing access to medical care for people and pets experiencing barriers such as limited financial resources and lack of transportation or housing.

“The One Health approach is incredibly valuable in community clinic settings, especially for underserved populations,” says Mark Delisi, a first-year medical student who assisted with planning and logistics for the clinic. “Providing care for both an individual and their animal companion in a single, collaborative setting helps build trust and creates a more holistic, compassionate model of care.”

Throughout the day, clinic volunteers heard firsthand from patients and their family members about the event’s positive impact. First-year medical student Jessica Crosson spoke with one woman who traveled more than 40 minutes to attend the clinic.

“She shared that she hoped events like this could happen at least twice a year, emphasizing just how valuable accessible preventive care is in our region,” Crosson says. “It was a strong reminder of the unmet needs in surrounding communities and the role clinics like this can play in bridging those gaps.”

Volunteers also noted that for some people, providing the opportunity for someone to seek care for their pet, as opposed to directly seeking out personal services, meant that they also saw an opportunity to receive care for themselves.

“I think that this speaks a lot to the nature of pet owners who may tend to choose to help their pet before themselves,” first-year medical student Max Felland says. “This event was formed on the idea that, by providing opportunities for pet care to happen, human care may become easier for some people to accept and benefit from.”
 

Expanding on prior success

The Duluth clinic continues a recent University collaboration focused on providing whole-family care to underserved communities in Minnesota, and builds on more than a decade of success seen by long-running UMN student-led free clinics.

A previous One Health community clinic was held in July 2024 in Minneapolis. That clinic included volunteers with VeTouch (Veterinary Treatment Outreach for Urban Community Health) and the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic (PNC), both student-led clinics serving the Twin Cities. VeTouch hosts monthly clinics for pets of people with low or no income, or who are unhoused, while the interprofessional PNC provides health services for people from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The Minneapolis and Duluth clinics are pilots supported by a One Health Clinic Concept grant awarded to CVM from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies with the goal of bringing together health sciences professionals, along with UMN students training in those fields, to provide access to culturally safe and trauma-informed care.

Anna Kucera, One Health clinic project manager for CVM, says that the grant will continue to fund a variety of pilot clinics in various Minnesota locations in collaboration with underserved communities for the next two years.