On-the-streets portable clinical care program with integrated behavioral health and HIV care - in order to address the growing need in our community to provide healthcare to the unhoused, the city…

On-the-streets portable clinical care program with integrated behavioral health and HIV care - in order to address the growing need in our community to provide healthcare to the unhoused, the city of vernon is partnering with and MLK hospital street medicine and wellness equity alliance to implement our on-the-streets portable clinical care ibhpc+HIV care program. This program combines the best practices of integrated behavioral health and primary care and HIV/aids prevention and treatment interventions with the promising practice of street medicine to provide comprehensive services to unsheltered people experiencing homelessness. On-the-streets provides direct patient care through multi-disciplinary teams who conduct walking rounds and POP up clinics for the unsheltered homeless population in the greater vernon area. Our implementation strategy for this program is built on a foundation trust-building, flexibility, and respect for the unsheltered individuals' unique experiences and wishes. We recognize that unsheltered individuals have many of the same medical issues as the general population, we also recognize that traditional doctor-patient relationship in brick and mortar practices does not meet the needs of this population. We firmly believe that quality healthcare is a fundamental right that should be accessible to every person, irrespective of their housing situation and we are experienced in addressing the unique needs and challenges faced by unhoused individuals, particularly those who have been living on the streets or encampments for extended lengths of time and those with complex CO-morbidity issues. On the streets will improve health outcomes of those who do not readily utilize shelters or the adjunctive services CO-located within shelters by providing direct patient care to unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness. The street medicine team is a roaming multi-disciplinary team will be a with "relationship-based" model including frequent/RE-occurring contact with patients. The team will be comprised a psychiatric nurse practitioner, a medical assistant, community health worker SUD counselor, community health worker/HIV counselor/tester and a consulting psychiatrist.