ZVMS Street Medicine:
Providing Direct Care
ZVMS Street Medicine:
Providing Direct Care
Providing Direct Care for People Experiencing Unstable Housing
ZVMS Street Medicine provides direct care to people experiencing unstable housing through:
In the Street Rounds, a physician, medical student, and community partner visit people in encampments, under bridges, and on street corners to identify the medical and social services they need.
Community Clinics and Satellite Clinics
The Community Clinics are concentrated one-day events. We then disperse the skills and supplies to smaller drop-in Satellite Clinics. Community Clinics have concentrated on foot care and eye care.
Street Rounds
In the Street Rounds, a physician, medical student, and community partner visit people in encampments, under bridges, and on street corners to identify the medical and social services they need.
Central to our work is a recognition of the need to build trust and gain rapport in serving a population that has traditionally faced trauma and stigma.
We know that it can take ten or more touchpoints before people become open to changing behavior and seeking care.
Therefore, in our street rounds, we use a broad definition of what constitutes a “medical consultation.”
We consider all of the following to be a medical consultation in the process of building trust:
- a greeting, even if the individual declines further services
- an offer of water and/or a hygiene kit, which may or may not be accepted
- an offer of medical advice, guidance, or knowledge
- an offer — and perhaps the provision — of treatment onsite
- the recommendation of an emergency department evaluation
- the recommendation of follow-up care with a primary care, free clinic, or specialty provider
Street Rounds Providers: To access the data-recording form, click on the link below and provide the password:
Community Clinics and Satellite Clinics
Community Clinics
Community Clinics are one-day events at a shelter or other location, with concentrated personnel, funds, and supplies.
In December 2022, we held a foot care clinic at The Landing MN, a local day center, for guests experiencing unstable housing. 60 guests attended. Medical students, physicians, and community partners provided foot soaks, specialty care, social service information, and free boots and socks.
In May 2023, we held an eye care clinic at The Landing MN. 75 guests attended. We were able to provide free eye examinations, specialty care, and free eyeglasses.
In December 2023, we held our second eye care clinic, this time at the expanded space of Christ United Methodist Church. 167 guests attended. 105 will receive no-cost prescription eyeglasses.
Satellite Clinics
Following the one-day Community Clinics, we then disperse the skills and supplies to smaller, more regular Satellite Clinics at additional sites.
After the December 2022 foot care clinic, teams of physicians and medical students now offer weekly foot soaks at the Dorothy Day Hospitality House. We also offer monthly foot spas at permanent supportive housing locations.
We will incorporate the skills and supplies from our eye care clinics into our Satellite Clinics.
Financial and Material Support for Inaugural Foot Care Clinic
We are grateful to everyone who contributed financial and material resources to the inaugural foot care clinic
The Rochester Area Foundation Better Communities Fall 2022 grant
The ZVMS Alliance members and guests for their donations during their November brunch
The ZVMS members who donated through the ZVMS Foundation‘s GiveMN campaign
Hippy Feet for their donation of over 1,100 pairs of socks
Many thanks to . . .
We are grateful to the following individuals, agencies, and businesses for supporting the work of the Street Medicine Initiative:
Sources for Data on People Experiencing Homelessness in Olmsted County
As we learned from helping with the 2022 Point in Time (PIT) Count, the exact numbers of people experiencing homelessness in our community can be difficult to obtain. We count who we can identify.
Here are two websites to consult for numbers and demographics:
River Valleys CoC (Continuum of Care)
and
Interested in Street Medicine?
Interested in efforts to address
homelessness in
Minnesota, Olmsted County, and/or
Rochester?
Click on the “Become Involved” button
below to let us know.
Inspired by the work of
Dr. Withers, the founder of the
Street Medicine Institute?
Learn more about the
Street Medicine Institute here