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Street medicine is an approach that seeks to provide “health and social services developed specifically to address the needs and circumstances” (Street Medicine Institute) of people experiencing homelessness where they are—in places like streets, parks, churches and community centers. Transportation, especially with an injury or chronic condition, is a challenge and often the main barrier to those who are unhoused seeking medical care. Most street medicine programs use vans or RVs that are equipped with supplies to treat wounds, collect test samples, administer vaccines and provide basic medical care.
Providence Swedish’s street medicine program in Olympia, Wash., carefully tracks individuals who visit the designated mobile clinic, which launched April 2023. Program staff monitor who comes in and what they are treated for to establish a basis for care and develop a longer-term treatment plan. By partnering with the county, city of Olympia, Union Gospel Mission and other organizations, their street medicine team connects these individuals to housing options, longer-term services and other resources that benefit their overall health and wellbeing.
Across the communities Providence Swedish serves, people experiencing homelessness face many barriers to health care. These challenges are complex and range from untreated health conditions to a lack of transportation. Providence invests in programs that seek to fill this gap by meeting patients where they are.
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Sheila also says that street medicine clinics need to rethink the way they provide care, as there is a growing number of senior citizens experiencing homelessness who have medical problems unique to their age.
“We can’t treat seniors with chronic conditions as consistently as we would like through street medicine, so that's when the clinic comes in to provide that regular primary care.”
When the care needed exceeds what can be provided through the street medicine clinic, having a person accompany them to the hospital helps them feel comfortable getting more intensive care than they would have sought alone.
For many, stigma alone prevents people experiencing homelessness from seeking medical care. By going to patients where they are comfortable and by building trust over time, street medicine programs help more people get the care they need and reduce barriers to finding stable housing. In Everett, Wash., medical residents at Providence Regional Medical Center join MercyWatch in serving the unhoused community through street medicine. MercyWatch medical director, Sheila Murphy, says that showing up consistently to the same sites builds rapport, which is essential to getting this population the medical care they need—especially if they have had poor clinical experiences in the past.
“They come to us because we’re there. We don’t judge,” said Murphy. “I’ll walk them into the clinic, and they see that these doctors are everything we said they would be.”
MercyWatch partners with Washington State University's Internal Medicine Residency Program-Everett to give residents the opportunity to serve the underserved. In addition to supporting MercyWatch’s street medicine efforts on the ground, residents staff a clinic to bring patients in for more regular primary care. Despite the challenges facing unhoused individuals, MercyWatch treated more than 1,400 patients in 2022.
In Olympia, program manager Kristyn Criss, ARNP, says that building relationships with people experiencing homelessness can have a butterfly effect on others in the community.
“Providing psychological safety has a huge impact,” said Criss. “Word of mouth grows quickly, so the trust we’ve built is contagious and encourages others in the community to come.”
Street medicine also provides preventative care, supporting hospital teams with crowded emergency rooms by redirecting people to the right level of care. In Olympia, more people have been treated through street medicine each month since it launched, and as a result, there have been fewer non-emergency ER visits.
Street medicine is an important type of health care that meets the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness. It serves as a tool for removing barriers to care by physically bringing medical care to people where they are. It not only treats immediate issues like wounds and viruses, but it also builds long-term trust that empowers people to seek out care or directly connects them to paths toward stable housing. Providence is proud to support street medicine programs that are leading this work on the ground.
To learn more about how Providence’s family of organizations invests in the communities they serve, visit www.providence.org/about/annual-report.
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Sheila Murphy,
Medical Director for MercyWatch
"They come to us because we’re there. We
don’t judge."
Meeting people
where they are
Community outreach services help reduce barriers for the unhoused
Riley Brazil, M.D., internal medicine resident at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, assists individuals experiencing homelessness at a hygiene center in Lynnwood, Wash., as part of a street medicine program designed to meet the unique health needs of unhoused individuals. Providence Swedish is involved with numerous street medicine programs throughout the Puget Sound providing vital health services to those in need — including helping connect people to longer-term care and other valuable resources— in easily accessible areas such as streets, parks and churches.
Riley Brazil, M.D., and a MercyWatch patient discuss her health concerns at a hygiene center in Lynnwood, Wash. Providence Swedish is involved with numerous street medicine programs throughout the Puget Sound providing vital health services to those in need — including helping connect people to longer-term care and other valuable resources— in easily accessible areas such as streets, parks and churches.