The Syracuse Medical-Legal Partnership (SMLP), an interdisciplinary clinical collaboration between the pediatric unit at SUNY Upstate Medical University and Syracuse University College of Law, was recently the focus of Upstate Medical University’s The Informed Patient podcast.
The SMLP provides law students with real-world experience as they work with Upstate medical providers to identify legal issues that might involve the health of patients and their families at SUNY Upstate Medical University’s University Pediatric and Adolescent Center and the Pediatric to Adult Transition Clinic for Complex Health.
SMLP Director and College of Law Professor Suzette Meléndez and Sarah Reckess L’09, SMLP Director and SUNY Medical University Assistant Professor of Bioethics and Humanities, were interviewed for the podcast.
Students in the SMLP are encountering several aspects of the law. “What we have been seeing pretty consistently are housing issues and issues with regard to advance directives. And by that I mean people who think they might need a guardianship or a power of attorney or a health care proxy, something designed to support the patient in making medical decisions,” said Meléndez.
She continues, “We also have seen inquiries about the establishment of wills and estates law, particularly from parents who are seeking to provide for their child long-term, and where that child may have a disability. We also see issues of family law. We see issues with regard to domestic violence. We have seen issues regarding custody and where there’s uncertainty as to which parent gets to make medical decisions concerning that child.”