UMMA Community Clinic - History

History

UMMA was started by a small group of UCLA students in 1991. Their goal: to set up a free clinic for the benefit of an entire community, based on the premise that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. The student founders approached and won the support of the City of Los Angeles; University of California, Los Angeles, and Charles R. Drew University.

They worked with government officials to raise $1.3 million in grants, brainstormed with architects to rebuild a dilapidated structure on Florence Ave. in South Los Angeles, and collected donated equipment.

In September 1996, UMMA Clinic's doors to the community were opened. The students have since themselves become doctors, researchers and parents.

Over a ten-year period, UMMA's infrastructure has grown considerably; today employing 18 full-time staff, supported by a legion of volunteers.

Since UMMA's birth, over ten Muslim founded charitable health clinics have been established throughout the United States.

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