Dr. Wasim Ellahi, a gastroenterologist at Illinois Gastroenterology Institute and a faculty member at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, has received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award for establishing Cordoba Healthcare clinic, Peoria’s only free specialty clinic for patients who are uninsured or underinsured.

Paulo Michelini, center, is a volunteer at Cordoba and one of eight members of UICOMP class of 2018 named to the local chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

The award, sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., recognizes practitioners who demonstrate both clinical excellence and outstanding compassion in the delivery of care and who show respect for patients, their families and healthcare colleagues.

More than 100 medical schools in the United States and Canada are eligible for consideration in this awards program.

Cordoba was an idea Dr. Ellahi first started pondering about 20 years ago as a young medical student in Chicago. He had seen the devastating effects of inaccessible medical care in Pakistan. The idea for Cordoba gained traction at a dinner with Muhammad Yousaf and other friends in Peoria.

Today, Cordoba operates from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays in the building occupied during the week by Heartland Clinic, 711 W. John Gwynn Jr. Drive. Heartland delivers primary care and often refers patients to Cordoba for specialty care.

Yousaf, president of the board of directors at Cordoba, said specialties at the clinic have expanded and include gastroenterology, cardiology, oncology, pulmonology, nephrology, pediatric gastroenterology, orthopedics, obstetrics-gynecology and dentistry.

“We initially saw five to six patients a week. Now we sometimes see more than 18,” Yousaf said. “Our mission is to serve. Our vision is to provide low-cost, high quality community-based care.

“We are humbled to have the opportunity to provide these services and make a difference in people’s lives.”

All the physicians, nurses, medical students and others at Cordoba are volunteers.

When medical services are required outside the clinic’s scope, Cordoba partners with other healthcare providers to secure patient services.

“We are able to keep costs down so our patients are not a burden on hospitals,” Yousaf said. “We’d like to see all people have health insurance so they can get the right treatment, but we are here to help.”

Currently, the volunteers are paying clinic costs. Visit www.cordobahc.org to learn about making a tax-deductible contribution.