Two future physicians at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem are working to make our communities healthier through their service projects as North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellows.
The fellowship selected 31 graduate students for the class of 2026-27, including Caroline Curtin and Taylor Sabato, MD students at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem.
NC Schweitzer Fellows design and implement year-long community service projects focused on addressing gaps in healthcare access, while meeting their academic obligations. Each project is carried out in partnership with a community-based organization. Fellows pair with both community and academic mentors throughout the year, helping students continue their development as leaders and role models.
Curtin and Sabato have partnered with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to launch the first student-run organization to provide wound care for the unhoused population in Winston-Salem. The program will provide wound care through volunteer-based mobile and follow-up clinics at City with Dwellings, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people transition from homelessness to stable housing.
According to research from City with Dwellings, unhoused people walk an average of 15 miles per day, often causing ulcers and necrotic wounds that remain untreated. Curtin and Sabato are working to close that gap by bringing wound care directly to unhoused people in the community, with the goals of reducing infections and serious complications and supporting patients’ dignity and well-being.
“We talk a lot about the social determinants of health in class and how that can really impact individuals and patients whom we're treating,” says Sabato, who majored in public health as an undergraduate. “To have the opportunity to put those skills and that information we learn into action and make a tangible difference through hands-on service and care is very rewarding.”
City With Dwellings has hosted many additional Schweitzer projects, including foot and vision clinics, and a skin cancer prevention program.
For Curtin, the new wound care program is the culmination of her longtime commitment to service and supporting unhoused people.
“When I was in preschool and I first learned that there were people experiencing homelessness, I told my teacher, ‘Well, they can all come to my house for Thanksgiving,’” Curtin says. "I've kind of held that attitude throughout my life. My poor mom didn't know that a lot of people were going to come over that year!”
In college, she volunteered with a homeless shelter in Philadelphia, where she learned the importance of personal connections and the resulting health benefits. She would visit several times per week, beginning at 5 a.m., to walk and run with the men in the shelter, help them build a routine, establish healthy habits and build community.
She hopes to bring the same opportunities for the unhoused population in Winston-Salem through the wound care clinics.
“I want to be able to provide that connection through our personal care while also using our skills as medical students,” Curtin says.
About 40 of their medical school classmates are being trained to volunteer at the clinics and treat patients.
The students treated five patients at the first walk-in clinic on Wednesday, August 19, and volunteers also joined City with Dwellings to provide wound care to those outside of the downtown area for several days after the clinic. A mobile wound care clinic is also in the planning stages. They are also fundraising to provide care kits and purchase additional wound care supplies.
In addition to providing wound care, a goal of the program is to connect patients with the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist healthcare system to serve their broader health needs.
“I'm very appreciative for the opportunity to be able to make a difference and directly impact a community through hands-on service and care,” says Sabato. “It's something we've been working on for several months now, and we're excited to be at the point where we can start hosting clinics.”
The wound care fellowship initiative at Wake Forest University School of Medicine demonstrates the unique experiences students receive that prepare them to be even better doctors to their patients. Students are leading the way addressing the health needs of our communities, while enriching their own medical school journeys and gaining critical skills to prepare for their future careers.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine students Caroline Curtin and Taylor Sabato held their first wound care clinic in partnership with City with Dwellings, in Winston-Salem, on August 19, 2026.
NC Schweitzer Fellows design and implement year-long community service projects focused on addressing gaps in healthcare access, while meeting their academic obligations. Each project is carried out in partnership with a community-based organization. Fellows pair with both community and academic mentors throughout the year, helping students continue their development as leaders and role models.
Curtin and Sabato have partnered with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to launch the first student-run organization to provide wound care for the unhoused population in Winston-Salem. The program will provide wound care through volunteer-based mobile and follow-up clinics at City with Dwellings, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people transition from homelessness to stable housing.
According to research from City with Dwellings, unhoused people walk an average of 15 miles per day, often causing ulcers and necrotic wounds that remain untreated. Curtin and Sabato are working to close that gap by bringing wound care directly to unhoused people in the community, with the goals of reducing infections and serious complications and supporting patients’ dignity and well-being.
“We talk a lot about the social determinants of health in class and how that can really impact individuals and patients whom we're treating,” says Sabato, who majored in public health as an undergraduate. “To have the opportunity to put those skills and that information we learn into action and make a tangible difference through hands-on service and care is very rewarding.”
City With Dwellings has hosted many additional Schweitzer projects, including foot and vision clinics, and a skin cancer prevention program.
For Curtin, the new wound care program is the culmination of her longtime commitment to service and supporting unhoused people.
“When I was in preschool and I first learned that there were people experiencing homelessness, I told my teacher, ‘Well, they can all come to my house for Thanksgiving,’” Curtin says. "I've kind of held that attitude throughout my life. My poor mom didn't know that a lot of people were going to come over that year!”
In college, she volunteered with a homeless shelter in Philadelphia, where she learned the importance of personal connections and the resulting health benefits. She would visit several times per week, beginning at 5 a.m., to walk and run with the men in the shelter, help them build a routine, establish healthy habits and build community.
She hopes to bring the same opportunities for the unhoused population in Winston-Salem through the wound care clinics.
“I want to be able to provide that connection through our personal care while also using our skills as medical students,” Curtin says.
About 40 of their medical school classmates are being trained to volunteer at the clinics and treat patients.
The students treated five patients at the first walk-in clinic on Wednesday, August 19, and volunteers also joined City with Dwellings to provide wound care to those outside of the downtown area for several days after the clinic. A mobile wound care clinic is also in the planning stages. They are also fundraising to provide care kits and purchase additional wound care supplies.
In addition to providing wound care, a goal of the program is to connect patients with the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist healthcare system to serve their broader health needs.
“I'm very appreciative for the opportunity to be able to make a difference and directly impact a community through hands-on service and care,” says Sabato. “It's something we've been working on for several months now, and we're excited to be at the point where we can start hosting clinics.”
The wound care fellowship initiative at Wake Forest University School of Medicine demonstrates the unique experiences students receive that prepare them to be even better doctors to their patients. Students are leading the way addressing the health needs of our communities, while enriching their own medical school journeys and gaining critical skills to prepare for their future careers.