With a love for service, two ATSU alumni return to campus and exemplify the University’s mission
Posted: July 17, 2024
Across the hall from ATSU’s Clinical Performance Center in Mesa, Arizona, where many students first begin their journey into patient care, is the Wesley Community & Health Center Recker campus.
Embodying the center’s mantra, “Together We Empower Positive Change,” and embracing the mission of their alma mater, ATSU-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine alumna Caitlin Lee, DO, ’14, and ATSU-Arizona School of Health Sciences alumna Alexandra Hopun, MS, PA-C, ’23, are continuing their patient care journey as practitioners at the center.
“My first day I was here, there was a weird sense of déjà vu that I was there to do more testing when I was not,” says Hopun, laughing.
As a brand-new practitioner still learning the ropes, Hopun has loved her experience so far at Wesley.
“It’s been awesome,” Hopun says. “I see about 80%-90% Spanish-speaking patients, so I’m always learning. But I’m really lucky to work with Dr. Lee. She’s so knowledgeable; she’s just amazing. The rest of the providers there know so much, and they really care about the community. I think that really shows in their work.”
Hopun and Dr. Lee’s passion for serving the underserved and interest in working at community health centers significantly influenced their decisions to pursue their medical education at ATSU.
“I knew I wanted to be in community health, in some sort of federally qualified health center working with underserved patients,” Dr. Lee says. “That’s really what drew me to medicine is working with underserved populations.”
As a medical student and during residency, Dr. Lee had the opportunity to do her rotations at Wesley and was familiar with the patient population it serves, of which 60% are uninsured and uninsurable.
In addition to her work as a provider, Dr. Lee serves as Wesley’s medical director of health equity and quality. She develops partnerships with outside organizations to provide free medications and expands specialty and in- house services for their uninsured patients.
She credits her pre-med schoolwork with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and her time at ATSU for preparing her to become a strong patient advocate, not just a practitioner.
“I felt very prepared coming out of school and into residency. ATSU-KCOM provided a strong training with a focus on whole person, patient-centered care, always prioritizing opportunities to give back to the community,” Dr. Lee says. “My classmates and I were supported in our efforts to expand service experiences for ourselves and other students, providing a foundation we were able to carry forward into our careers.”
This sentiment also resonates with Hopun, who additionally serves as an advocate and practitioner at Wesley’s west Phoenix campus.
“Especially learning about ways you can make medicine more accessible for people who might have barriers, that was something that really carried forward through to my clinical year, and then also where I’m working now,” Hopun says. “I’m able to utilize a lot of what we learned.
“It’s such a great field to work in, and you’re able to really do so much, especially if you work at a place like I do.”
As Hopun and Dr. Lee are continuing to work toward delivering equitable care to some of Arizona’s most vulnerable populations and meeting a critical need within the community, they are demonstrating the commitment they made when they first began their journey at ATSU.