The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
STREET MEDICINE
Outreach: Medicine program to help the homeless expands to Norristown
NORRISTOWN >> Establishing quality medical care for those experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County has long been top of mind for Mark Boorse.
Serving as director of program development for Access Services, he helped launch a “Street Medicine” program in January 2021 in Pottstown where a group of advocates and medical professionals works to meet people where they are.
“We knew that when we started Street Outreach we were going to see people who had poor health; we were going to see sick people,” Boorse said. “We’re not doctors. We have to partner with somebody if we’re going to address this, and we felt compelled to not only just be an outreach service but connect to health care.”
Now the program is growing. Members of the Street Medicine team began outreach recently in Norristown.
“We started in Pottstown because we had a partnership that formed that allowed us to do that,” Boorse said. “Our goal throughout the whole time has been to bring Street Medicine to the county.”
As of last week, 84 men, 55 women and 22 families were homeless in Norristown, according to Boorse, adding that 46 men, 25 women and 22 families are living outdoors in Pottstown.
“The two places that make the most sense to start are Pottstown and Norristown because that’s a big concentration of folks who are experiencing homelessness, and there’s health care providers that are big in these spaces,” Boorse said.
How does it work?
Pottstown’s Street Medicine initiative involves a physician, as well as representatives from Access Services,
Tower Health and Community Health and Dental to visit outreach centers and homeless encampments located in the borough. They’ll often ask if anyone needs or wants to see a doctor for an ailment.
“People who are homeless have the same kids of chronic issues everybody else does, but oftentimes they’re not diagnosed quickly because they don’t go regularly to a doctor, and they tend not to be as well treated,” Boorse said.
Boorse cited heart disease, respiratory issues, pneumonia, and infection from wounds as common afflictions.
In expanding to Norristown, Street Medicine is partnering with the nonprofit HopeWorx. Located at 1210 Stanbridge St., No. 600, in Norristown, the agency offers services, community advocacy and a safe space for those in need.
“One of the things that’s also really cool about HopeWorx is some of the folks that are here have experienced homelessness themselves so they are really clear,” Boorse said. “They’re dialed into the experience. They’re also dialed into the space.”
Looking ahead
While still in its infancy, Boorse said he hopes to have HopeWorx operating as a home base, with the goal of replicating the Street Medicine model in Norristown. Boorse has had a relationship with the nonprofit for years, but “informal conversations” related to the partnership only happened in the last couple of months.
“I think it’ll be very similar. We see this as a great place for people to know,” he said. “We’ll establish steady days that are here, and people will know doctors come to HopeWorx on certain days.”
The recent closure of the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center, previously located on the grounds of the Norristown State Hospital, shined a light on increasing homelessness in Montgomery County. The 50-bed facility served as the largest and only shelter for single adults in the county. Boorse identified access to medical care as a crucial need with homelessness on the rise locally.
“There’s a significant concentration of folks living outside in the Norristown area, and we know that they are just as sick, and we also know that whatever
health care they have is sort of cobbled together, and lots of people don’t have it,” he said.
Outreach gets underway
November 1 marked the first day out in Norristown. Team members used the opportunity to introduce themselves to prospective patients. Dr. Erin Tuffy, an emergency room doctor at Pottstown Hospital Tower Health, saw four people for “wellness checks.” Afterwards, the team headed out to check in on a tent near the river where four people were staying.
The outing ended with a stop at a local pharmacy in Norristown to formulate another partnership in the mission’s community-centered approach.
Building the team
What comes next is building a team for the long term. That starts with a hospital and doctors.
“We’re in the process of saying how do we develop (the) partnerships down here in Norristown we have developed in Pottstown,” Boorse said. “We know who some of the players are, and we’re trying to start those conversations of how can you guys partner with us?”
Boorse called the first day a success. There’s still more work to be done and they’re eager to get started.
“I am super excited,” he said. “I tell people that one of the blessings, or privileges, of my role in the agency is to help start new things and so being present on day one is always exciting for me.”