Operating a Street Medicine Program within New York City's Public Health Care System.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Urban Health
• Healthcare Delivery Systems

Background:

• New York City faces a significant unsheltered homeless population with poor health outcomes.
• Limited access to healthcare and social services exacerbates health disparities for this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the evolution and operationalization of the Street Health Outreach and Wellness (SHOW) initiative.
• To assess the impact of integrating a street outreach program into a public health system.

Main Methods:

• The SHOW initiative evolved from a contractor-staffed program during the COVID-19 pandemic to an integrated health system service in January 2023.
• Program data on street engagements, clinical visits, and service connections were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• Since integration, the SHOW initiative has conducted over 46,000 street engagements.
• This includes more than 10,000 clinical visits, 1,700 connections to substance use services, and over 500 connections to homeless shelters.

Conclusions:

• Community-based interventions and trust-building are crucial for effective homeless healthcare.
• Integrating outreach programs into healthcare systems improves access to care and social services for unsheltered individuals.