The University of Kansas School of Law and Lawrence (Kan.) Memorial Hospital have implemented a joint program to provide legal counsel to the hospital's neediest patients, reports LJWorld.
The program offers legal services to low-income patients with health-related legal issues at no cost. The program also gives KU law students an opportunity to build professional experience by advising patients.
Program director and managing attorney Juliann Morland DaVee believes the medical-legal partnership will help LMH identify and resolve root causes of medical issues, thereby reducing healthcare utilization.
"For example, maybe the provider is treating a woman who's been returning to the emergency department — the doctor can treat those wounds, but maybe what she needs is an order of protection from abuse," Ms. Morland DaVee told LJWorld.
Ms. Morland DaVee plans to add four to eight law students to the program in January.