Homeless Healthcare Outreach - Patnership of a School of Nursing and Community Coalition

[name of university] school of nursing has partnered with [name of local coalition homeless service provider] continuously since the fall of 1997 to bring health care to the homeless clients of the coalition's winter shelter program. Since there is no permanent year-round shelter in the region, the coalition operates the shelter program within seven selected churches on a rotating basis throughout the East San Gabriel Valley region during the months of December through March each year. Up to 230 homeless persons may be housed within a church per night. The faculty and students (12-15 in number from graduate and undergraduate programs) of the School of Nursing bring health services to the shelter's clients on a weekly basis on Thursday evenings. Shelter clients are provided a health assessment, first aid care and treatment for minor acute health problems. The nurses also provide referral services for those with more urgent, complex or ongoing problems. Health education and some preventive care services, such as immunizations and TB screening are also offered. With the support of a small community grant from the Kaiser Foundation, the school of nursing's outreach health services are being expanded to the emergency assistance Center of the coalition to enhance follow-up. Over the 12 years of services many lessons have been learned through applied education and research, and are ripe to be shared.