HEALTH
CARE / SELF CARE
Homelessness
and Health
Health
Care/Self Care
Objectives
- To
ensure client access to on-site medical intervention,
minimizing costly emergency room services;
- To
save community dollars;
- To
help save lives among our disenfranchised homeless
community.
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Survival,
not medical treatment, is the homeless person’s main priority.
The use of alcohol and other drugs are part of the lifestyle, often
resulting in illnesses such as tuberculosis, AIDS, severe dental problems
and malnutrition. Lack of healthcare often results in frequent emergency
visits to facilities subsidized by taxpayers and the health insurance
system.
To
address these healthcare issues, we operate an on-site Health
Care/Self Care program offering a wide range of healthcare for residents
and referrals to other medical facilities. The program also offers training
on basic health issues, teaching residents to take better care of themselves
and prevent serious medical issues.
The
on-campus clinic operates with the support and services of the Foundation
of the Wake County Medical Society and its alliance.
Using
a variety of resources,
volunteer physicians, dentists, nurses and others provide tuberculosis
and HIV/AIDS testing, hold dual diagnosis sessions and conduct hypertension
and preventive medication clinics. They teach classes in smoking cessation,
diabetes awareness, skin care, disease prevention and nutrition, among
other topics.
Outcomes
and Evaluations
Tracking
our effectiveness is essential to continued success. Through collaboration
with hospitals and emergency response agencies, the Wake County Detention
Facility, the Raleigh Police Department and Emergency Medical Services,
we measure each service utilization, the number of homeless in the
program, the length of sobriety, and the number who maintain productive
employment.
Tracking
enables us to continually adjust and improve our services to the homeless
population in the county.
The
impact of the program on medical care is significant. In the
past year, The Healing Place has referred only 25 cases to off-campus,
taxpayer supported medical services – half the number from the previous
year.
As men learn to better care for themselves, as they return to the
community free of addictions and the medical issues that accompany
them, theuse of county medical services should continue to drop.
Links to Additional Resources
