Health on wheels

To adequately meet the needs of the poor and underserved, we must bring healthcare services to them. Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta is doing just that through its Mercy Mobile Health Program. Even though Mercy Mobile has been available for a decade, the health status of Atlanta's homeless and working poor has deteriorated. The program has therefore increased its services to include primary care, disease prevention, health promotion, case management, and information and referral. With four vans and two mobile clinics, the program operates five days and three evenings a week, often in space donated by churches and other not-for-profit organizations. It provided more than 50,000 episodes of care last year. Developing strategies and resources to treat medically-at-risk, hard-to-reach clients with multiple diagnoses is a complex task, requiring the resources of more than one organization. One example of an effective collaborative effort is the "Street Home" program for HIV-infected homeless persons. This program, which provides early intervention and primary care to persons with HIV, is funded through the federal Ryan White "CARE" (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act.