The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #41785

Jamie L. Robinson, MS¹, Stephanie Sterling¹, Andrew Brown¹, and James Plumb, MD². (1) Class of 2003, Jefferson Medical College, 209 S. Sartain St., Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-574-0578, Jamie.Robinson@Jefferson.edu, (2) Department of Family Medicine, Jefferson Health System, 1015 Walnut - Suite 401, Philadelphia, PA 19107

In 1991, a group of medical students at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University saw a need for healthcare within the homeless community of Philadelphia. They sought to improve access to health care and to educate students about homelessness. Jeff HOPE (Health, Opportunity, Prevention, Education), a medical and nursing student-run non-profit organization, was founded to provide free medical care and educational services to homeless clients through weekly clinics in Philadelphia. Over the past 11 years, Jeff HOPE has evolved and now operates five weekly health clinics. Annually, Jeff HOPE involves more than 600 nursing and medical students and 80 attending faculty members. The clinics are responsible for over 1500 client visits each year. Services provided include free medical care and health education sessions. Additionally, students act as patient advocates to help connect homeless clients with other resources within the community. Since its inception, Jeff HOPE has focused on providing quality, free healthcare, educational and advocacy services and educating students and health professionals about the issues of care for homeless men, women, and children.

Learning Objectives:

• To identify non-traditional models for educating medical and nursing students about issues of homelessness.
• To discuss methods for health professions students to participate in community-based initiatives to provide health care to the homeless.
• To describe a longitudinal partnership between community-based programs and an academic institution to address issues of homelessness.

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Community-Based Partnership

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.