Catching up with street medicine 3 years after it went 100% legit from coast to coast
CMS officially began paying for street medicine services at the national level in 2023.
The next year, the Journal of General Internal Medicine published an opinion piece applauding the development.
“The pivot toward incorporating street medicine within the reimbursement framework manifests a profound recognition of the intertwined destinies of healthcare and housing in addressing homelessness,” wrote Michael Hochman, MD, MPH, and colleagues.
“We believe this investment will reap dividends,” Hochman et al. added, “ensuring that resources allocated to housing services achieve their intended outcomes, advancing financial sustainability for street medicine programs and fulfilling our moral duty to care for the most vulnerable.”
The current year finds the street-med model making much headway—and many headlines.
Here’s a sampling of 10 recent developments.
- $2.5M grant to start street medicine program at Penn State College of Medicine (July 10)
- Corazon Ministries’ street medicine program expands care for thousands in San Antonio’s homeless community (July 9)
- Therapy in a tent: The healthcare many homeless Californians need but weren’t getting (July 8)
- New street medicine team brings healthcare beyond the doctor’s office in Nevada (July 7)
- Atrium Health launches Care Everywhere Street Medicine Project to reach people experiencing homelessness (July 6)
- Las Vegas street medicine team brings relief to the unhoused (June 29)
- Street medicine improves blood pressure control 10 points in homeless adults: UCLA Study (June 26)
- Medical school secures HRSA grant to expand street medicine across Hawaiʻi (June 23)
- Street Medicine brings free healthcare to Iowa for Siouxland’s unhoused (June 17)
- Knoxville Street Medicine seeks to support the unhoused in Tennessee (June 15)
Editor’s note: The Street Medicine Institute maintains a set of resources to support established and new providers of street medicine. Also highly helpful is the Center for Health Care Strategies.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.