Meeting Patients Where They Are

On his very first visit to Kensington, recent Saint Joseph’s University graduate Fredy Abboud, BS ’25, spotted a man in a wheelchair. A shopping cart served as his makeshift home – a few pairs of clothes, some food and miscellaneous supplies filling the steel bin to the rim.

“I asked him the obvious question, ‘Why aren’t you coming up to the clinic? We can help you,’” says Abboud. 

The man turned to him, bewildered. “Look at me. I can’t. I’m in a wheelchair.” 

Abboud’s reply was simple: “Good answer.”

He sprinted back to the clinic, grabbed a physician and loaded a tackle box with wound care supplies. When they returned, the man was still there. The wound on his foot was badly infected, so they cleaned and wrapped it.

“That was a transformative experience for me,” says Abboud. “My whole perspective on medicine changed. You have to put yourself in a patient’s shoes. You have to meet them where they are.”

Walking through the heart of the opioid crisis on Allegheny Avenue in Kensington was commonplace for Abboud and the other fellows in Saint Joseph’s University’s Institute of Clinical Bioethics (ICB).

For over three years, in partnership with Mother of Mercy House, the ICB has provided crucial wound care, free health screenings, meals, eyeglasses and more to some of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable residents.

The lessons Abboud has learned through the ICB’s health promoter clinics have carried him far. After completing classes this past winter, the biology major will walk across the stage at the College of Arts and Sciences Commencement ceremony on May 13. He was accepted to Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, and his experiences as an ICB fellow helped him get there.

During medical school interviews, Abboud heard something unexpected: One interviewer told him he was the first applicant with a bioethics background.

While most pre-med students pursue clinical hours and research, Abboud was sitting in on ethics committee meetings, shadowing Peter Clark, S.J., PhD, professor of theology and religious studies and director of Saint Joseph’s Institute of Clinical Bioethics, on clinical rounds at local hospitals and co-coordinating the ICB’s undergraduate-run health promoter program in Kensington.

“Physicians have to deal with critical, ethically charged dilemmas frequently,” says Abboud. “Because of the ICB, I was exposed to those dilemmas and the lifestyle of medical residents early on. I couldn’t get this experience anywhere else.”

Abboud didn’t arrive at Saint Joseph’s expecting any of this. He wanted to pursue medicine and chose SJU because of its Catholic, Jesuit identity and Philadelphia location. His path to the ICB came by happenstance. 

“There is a Pathways For Medical Professions program, run by Dr. Nelson in the biology department. I registered for it and, as a part of the program, I started receiving emails from the ICB,” says Abboud. “Initially, I couldn’t join the health promoter team. One day, they were short on people, so I got my opportunity.”

Father Clark introduced himself to Abboud at the health promoter site and suggested he stop by his office in the coming weeks. Abboud walked in expecting a casual conversation. Instead, Father Clark interviewed him on the spot and he left as an ICB fellow.

“Everything is history from that point forward,” says Abboud.

“What truly sets Fredy apart is that he epitomizes Jesuit values,” says Clark. “More importantly, he not only speaks about these values, but lives them out daily. He treats all people with the utmost dignity and respect.”

Abboud plans to remain connected with Father Clark and the ICB throughout medical school, continuing to volunteer at health promoter sites. After medical school, he hopes to pursue a career combining hands-on patient care, research and health policy work. It is a vision shaped, in large part, by four years on Hawk Hill. 

“I engage with students at other universities all the time and hear about their service learning programs,” says Abboud. “They aren’t as robust as what St. Joe’s offers. The breadth of experiences here is unmatched. Looking back now, I know I made the right decision.”