Externship Site

As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Great Lakes Bay Health Centers believes that everyone deserves access to quality healthcare. We provide eyecare to all patients, especially those who are underserved, uninsured or underinsured. The clinic provides primary eyecare to patients of all ages, with an emphasis on ocular disease. 

There are currently two locations in Saginaw that host optometry student externs. We have a new location in Bay City, MI (about 20 minutes North of Saginaw) that opened in Spring 2026 where externs will also be seeing patients. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 

1. Understand the importance of inter-professional collaboration to provide quality care to patients while gaining experience in a patient-centered medical home.

2. Develop confidence in emergency eyecare scenarios including, but not limited to, red eyes, foreign body removal, sudden vision changes or loss of vision, and trauma. 

3. Demonstrate proficiency in comprehensive primary eye care examinations. Students should exhibit accurate history taking, thorough clinical skills, as well as decisive and appropriate management of ocular conditions. 

Our patient panel reflects our community with a wide array of races, economic backgrounds, and health literacy. Before finding our clinic, many patients struggle with health care accessibility due to financial reasons, insurance coverage, transportation, and other barriers to care. For these reasons, our clinic has a high incidence of ocular disease.