ZVMS Street Medicine
ZVMS Street Medicine
ZVMS Street Medicine
In the three years since the inception of ZVMS Street Medicine, we have been thrilled with the willingness and enthusiasm of medical students, physicians, community partners, and individuals with lived experience to join together to serve our unhoused neighbors.
ZVMS Street Medicine recognizes that people experiencing unstable housing often face barriers to health care. To alleviate these barriers, we know that providing direct care is not enough. Therefore, ZVMS Street Medicine uses its spheres of influence as an organization of physicians and physicians-in-training to:
(1) Provide direct care to people in their own environments, through
- Street rounds
- Community clinics and their satellites
(2) Train the medical community to deliver high quality, compassionate healthcare outside of clinical settings, through
- Street medicine selective (optional elective) at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (MCASOM)
- Street medicine content added to the required Science of Health Care Delivery coursework at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (MCASOM)
(3) Advocate for changes in systems and processes that affect the healthcare that people receive, such as
- Improvements in hospital discharge processes for patients experiencing unstable housing
- Development of recuperative care/medical respite services in Olmsted County and statewide
Learn More about ZVMS Street Medicine's Activities
Timeline of ZVMS Street Medicine
ZVMS’ commitment to providing care for our unhoused community members
began in October 2020 with a
7-part online training series for medical students and
has grown into ZVMS Street Medicine.
Learn more from the timeline below:
For more information:
- 7-part online training series
- Dr. Withers’ presentation to the Rochester community
- Street Medicine selective for Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (MCASOM) 1st-year medical students (M1s)
- Street Medicine content for all 1st-year MCASOM medical students
- Community clinics (foot clinic in December 2022 and eye clinic in May 2023) and their satellites
- Street rounds
Learn from ZVMS Street Medicine
Medical Student Leaders
On July 26, 2023, medical student leaders from ZVMS Street Medicine spoke with University of Minnesota medical students about the development of Street Medicine in Rochester, Olmsted County. Click on the video on the left to learn more.
Medical students from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine are an essential part of ZVMS Street Medicine. We thank them for their many contributions.
ZVMS Foundation Launches Fundraising Campaign for Eye Care Clinic
The ZVMS Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign to support the ZVMS Street Medicine Initiative’s eye care clinic to be held in May.
On May 20, 2023, the Street Medicine Initiative will partner with homelessness service agencies to provide an eye care clinic for our community members experiencing unstable housing.
The eye care clinic will be held at The Landing MN in the afternoon of May 20. Medical students and physicians will provide free eye care. Eyeglasses will be provided at no cost to visitors of the eye care clinic.
To learn more about the fundraising campaign and to donate, click here
Spotlight on Community Partners
ZVMS Street Medicine values its multi-sectoral partnerships.
We were honored to award the ZVMS Community Service Award for 2022 to the Olmsted County Housing Stability Team.
Click on the video on the right to learn more about the wonderful work of the Olmsted County Housing Stability Team.
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