What I learned as a summer fellow at Oasis Free Clinics

This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a fellow at Oasis Free Clinics in Brunswick, a no-cost health-care clinic supporting communities in need in Midcoast Maine. Oasis offers free medical, dental and vision care to members of our community who have nowhere else to turn, filling a critical gap in the community’s safety net.

As a summer fellow, I came into the clinic with projects that looked a little different from the day-to-day work of the providers, staff and volunteers at Oasis. My role was to analyze clinic data, including patient visits, cancellations and no-shows, to identify patterns that could help Oasis improve access to care. Initially, my project sounded straightforward: crunch numbers, find trends and propose solutions. I quickly learned that working with real-world da