Medical-Legal Partnerships: Addressing the Unmet Legal Needs of Health Center Patients

Dr. Peter Shin, lead author of a recent Geiger Gibson/ RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative report, and Ellen Lawton, Esq., Executive Director of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership and leader in the MLP field, will examine the role of medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) as catalysts for improving the overall health of low-income and vulnerable patients by addressing their legal needs. Joining them will be Dr. Marsha Griffin, Co-Founder of Community for Children and a pediatrician at the Brownsville Community Health Center, a multi-site migrant and community health center in Brownsville, Texas. Community health centers' comprehensive approach to health care and high proportion of low-income patients make them  an excellent entry point for access to essential legal services, and health center MLPs can also benefit the viability of the centers.