The UAB Obstetrics & Gynecology Resident Continuity Clinic has returned to the UAB campus and added a Monday evening after-hours clinic to better serve employees, students and the community.

Laura Lee Joiner is the director of the UAB Obstetrics & Gynecology Resident Continuity Clinic, which has relocated to the UAB campus and added a Monday evening after-hours clinic to better serve employees, students and the community.

"We're happy to be home now and bring our clinic back to UAB," says Laura Lee Joiner, M.D., assistant professor and medical director of the Residency Continuity Clinic.

Joiner says the clinic provides excellent patient care, quality resident and medical student instruction and an excellent continuity of care to benefit patients and physicians. The clinic will accept new patients for annual gynecology visits, including breast exam, pelvic exam and pap smear. Regular returning patients also will be seen.

"We also provide a referral point for patients who need specialized services in addition to gynecologic care," Joiner says.

The after-hours clinic will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. each Monday and will be staffed by Joiner and a third-year resident.

Joiner says the economy has played a role in the decision to offer the after-hours clinic. She has had a number of employed patients and students who don't want to miss class specifically mention how much this type of clinic would benefit them.

"I've been here for three years, and I've thought for a while that we needed the service largely because I've had patients tell me it was difficult for them to come between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., especially those that work full time," Joiner says. "This really is a service to accommodate those patients that want to maintain their health-care maintenance but don't want to take time off from work or can't afford to take time off."

Joiner was part of an after-hours clinic during her residency that was specifically a teen-oriented clinic, but she says they saw a number of employed women who worked full time.

"They were taking advantage of the hours," Joiner says. "The fact is right now that many people just can't miss work. The folks who are paid hourly can't afford to take off, and those of us who are paid on a salary still have a hard time getting away because many people have taken on additional responsibilities at their jobs. It's hard to schedule the time away."

Joiner says the clinic also will aid those physicians who work at UAB and find it difficult to schedule time away from their own clinics for a personal doctor's appointment.

"Many of us who work in the medical field feel an obligation to our patients," Joiner says. "It's very difficult for a resident physician to take time off to get their own health-care maintenance done. We hope this will be a help to them, as well."

The Obstetrics & Gynecology Resident Continuity Clinic accepts insurance plans in accordance with University of Alabama Health Services Foundation policies.

Patients can make appointments and physicians can refer patients by e-mailing WRHC-Patients@obgyn.uab.edu. Appointments also can be made by calling 934-9074.