Posted: 8/10/2015
Mobile clinics provide health care to homeless pediatric, adult patients
From looking for nightly shelter to finding a decent meal or a place to wash their clothes, homeless individuals face constant struggles that leave little time to even think about healthcare needs.
Providing essential medical, behavioral health and dental services to homeless children and adults throughout Dallas County has been the mission of the Homeless Outreach Medical Services (HOMES) program at Parkland Health & Hospital System for more than 20 years. The program serves thousands of homeless people each year.
One of them is Carol Rains, 55, who said she has used HOMES healthcare services for over eight years. But, she said, her visits to the HOMES mobile unit have become more frequent recently because of increasing health issues, including blood clots, dental and vision problems.
“The doctors here are all very helpful. They make sure I get the attention I need, including getting me to Parkland for my lab work,” Rains said. “If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what I’d do to get medicines and help with my health.”
Susan Spalding, MD, Medical Director of the HOMES program, said its primary mission is to make healthcare as accessible as possible for everyone in Dallas County.
“There are so many things that homeless individuals have to deal with every day, that healthcare many times just doesn’t compete. Homeless people have high rates of no-shows in more traditional healthcare settings, so it is important to bring the services to them,” Dr. Spalding said.
August 9-15 has been designated as National Health Center Week, dedicated to recognizing the services and contributions of community, migrant, homeless and public housing health centers in providing access to affordable, high-quality, cost-effective healthcare to medically vulnerable and underserved people through efforts like Parkland’s HOMES program.
HOMES provides services at two fixed locations in downtown Dallas – The Bridge and The Stewpot – and also sends its five mobile medical clinics and one mobile dental clinic to 30 different locations around the county. Last year the program provided healthcare to more than 8,500 men, women and children.
Services for children include well child checkups, immunizations, acute care and nutrition services, as well as referrals to other social services, housing and specialty clinics. For adults, services include health maintenance evaluations, immunizations, cancer and disease screening, podiatry, acute and chronic disease care and a diabetes education program.
Dr. Spalding said that in recent years the program also has been expanding its behavioral health services to include both group and individual counseling. Some of the most popular groups are smoking cessation, anger management and prevention of substance abuse relapse.
“We now have our Bridge and Stewpot clinics open five days a week; three of our mobile clinics also operate five days a week and soon we will add a fourth mobile clinic to that schedule,” Dr. Spalding said.
Each of the mobile medical clinics has a nursing station, two examination rooms, a Class D pharmacy and a restroom. Parkland’s HOMES program has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home. The HOMES program operates on a nearly $5 million annual budget, funded by the Dallas County Hospital District, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration and the Children’s Health Fund.
For more information about the HOMES program offered at Parkland, visit www.parklandhospital.com/homes.