{"id":132678,"date":"2026-06-01T12:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=132678"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:37:16","slug":"seeds-of-care-bloomed-into-unmcs-sharing-clinic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/06\/01\/seeds-of-care-bloomed-into-unmcs-sharing-clinic\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeds of care bloomed into UNMC\u2019s SHARING Clinic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As a child, Sharon Stoolman, MD, joined her mom \u2014 a staff nurse at The Nebraska Medical Center \u2014 during medical outreach visits to the Open Door Mission and Salvation Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She continued doing healthcare outreach as a UNMC medical student, adding an eight-week trip to Zaire to work in a mission hospital. Then, she asked: \u201cWhat would it take to have a UNMC-based outreach clinic, and how would it fit in the Omaha community?<\/p>\n\n\n

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UNMC students provide care at the weekly SHARING Clinic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Her idea led to UNMC\u2019s student-run SHARING (Student Health Alliance Reaching Indigent Needy Groups) Clinic, which opened its doors Sept. 9, 1997, and provided low-cost medical care to 10 patients on that initial Tuesday night in South Omaha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly 30 years later, the clinics \u2014 which now stand at four \u2014 continue to make a difference with free and low-cost healthcare for Omaha-area patients. In addition, thousands of UNMC students \u2014 from medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant, nursing, medical nutrition and other disciplines \u2014 have learned to apply their knowledge while helping the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe clinics are a hardwired part of the curriculum that says: \u2018We give back to the community,\u2019\u201d said Dr. Stoolman, a pediatrician and 1999 UNMC College of Medicine graduate. \u201cI am proud to say I wasa part of starting that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supervised by healthcare professionals, UNMC\u2019s student-run clinics consist of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n