Radiology project with the Skid Row Community Clinics

In Los Angeles County, approximately 80,000 people are homeless each night. The JWCH Clinic at the Weingart Center (known to most as “the Skid Row clinic”) treats approximately 1,500 low-income and homeless people for various medical ailments each month. Additionally, JWCH receives referrals from Union Rescue Mission-UCLA Nurses Clinic and Los Angeles Mission Community Clinic on Skid Row for radiology services. JWCH is an impressive facility with good equipment, including general radiology equipment and an on-site radiology technician who operates the equipment and generates radiology images. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health provides support for the equipment and technician. However, the clinic does not provide imaging interpretation services on-site. Through a unique partnership, JWCH and Kaiser Permanente developed an integrated service delivery system to consolidate and expand radiology services for homeless patients. Over a one year period, Kaiser Permanente provided more than 2,000 radiological interpretation readings, free of charge, for tuberculosis chest x-rays following positive skin PPD tests, abdominal series radiology scans, and bone fracture assessments. This work improved the quality of follow-up of medical treatment for those who needed it and fast-tracked opportunities for those homeless patients who needed chest x-ray clearances before they could be considered for temporary housing. The collaborative efforts of the various organizations helped fill the gaps and improve the efficiency of a fragmented homeless delivery system. This presentation will discuss the process of creating the partnership and the identification of strategies for increasing access and quality to health care with limited resources.