Patients of all ages and backgrounds are welcome at the Asian clinic and all clinic personnel are volunteers. Medical students are part of a team that includes undergraduate patient advocates and attending physicians, most of whom are from UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Support is provided by the Sacramento County Health Department and UC Davis School of Medicine.

The clinic provides an excellent opportunity for medical students and undergraduate patient advocates to gain first-hand experience in patient care and community medicine.

The Paul Hom Asian Clinic is the oldest existing Asian clinic in the United States. In 1971, a group of UC Davis medical students, led by Paul Hom and Garrett Lee, held meetings with a group of activist undergraduate students from California State University, Sacramento to discuss improving health care for elderly Asians of Sacramento. The students perceived that many elderly Asians, as well as the newly arrived immigrant families, were having difficulty in obtaining adequate health care due to socioeconomic and language barriers. They decided to start a free clinic to target this problem. Dr. Lindy Kumagai, one of only a few Asian medical faculty at the time, consented to become the medical director of the clinic. He also made arrangements with the UC Davis School of Medicine Department of Community Health to establish the Asian Clinic as an elective course for medical and undergraduate students. Since 1972, the Asian Clinic continues to serve the Asian community in downtown Sacramento every Saturday, except holidays including Chinese New Year.

In 1994 with a grant from Blue Cross, UC Davis School of Medicine negotiated a contract with Sacramento County to establish the New Helvetia Revere Street Clinic. It was to become a primary care clinic staffed by the UC Davis Department of Family Practice on weekdays. The Asian Clinic was included in this contract and it was agreed that the clinic could also utilize the refurbished facilities every Saturday morning. That same year, Dr. Paul Hom, one of the former student founders of the Asian Clinic, passed away after a brief illness. With the concurrence of his family and the original student founders, the Asian clinic was renamed the Paul Hom Asian clinic in his memory.

Dr. Paul Hom had an inexhaustible committment to the clinic and its purpose of providing patients of all ages in the Asian community adequate health care. Health care has been and continues to be provided at no charge to all patients. The existence of the Paul Hom Asian Clinic has provided beneficial not only to the patients, but also to undergraduate students, physical students, and physicians who volunteer their time and efforts. The legacy of Dr. Paul Hom continues to flourish.

• To provide free primary care services to the medically uninsured.
• To provide an opportunity for medical students and undergraduate patient advocates to gain experience in community medicine.
• To provide translation services in a clinical setting for Asian immigrants.

The Paul Hom Asian Clinic is a free, student-run clinic that operates from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. It is staffed by UC Davis undergraduate patient advocates, medical students, and attending physicians from UC Davis Medical Center and throughout the Sacramento Community.

Patients are seen at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis.

Undergraduate patient advocates provide support as receptionists, intake personnel, and translators. Under the guidance of attending physicians, medical students conduct patient interviews, physical exams, and evaluate patients. All three groups of volunteers work as a team to provide basic health care services to the community.