Bringing Medical Care to the Streets: Lessons Learned in Launching a Street Medicine Outreach (Social EM Interest Group and Population Health Interest Group-Sponsored)
Street medicine provides healthcare to people experiencing homelessness in non-traditional settings like streets, parks, and under highway overpasses, improving patient health and reducing emergency department visits. This session will explore the practical and educational aspects of outreach, focusing on building trust with unhoused patients, addressing unique healthcare needs, and navigating logistical challenges. We’ll discuss the involvement of medical students and residents, strategies for fostering sustainable partnerships with community organizations, and provide actionable insights for establishing or enhancing street medicine initiatives. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of this emerging field in emergency medicine and opportunities to serve vulnerable populations.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the healthcare needs and disparities faced by unhoused populations.
- Outline the key challenges/solutions in starting street medicine outreach. Participants will gain insight to the logistical and medicolegal obstacles of street medicine.
- Discuss the role of medical student/resident involvement in street medicine outreach. Participants will be exposed to creative involvement options and the importance of education in social determinants of health.
- Identify strategies for building sustainable partnerships with local organizations.
Presenters:
- Erin F. Shufflebarger, MD, MSPH
- Christine M. Shaw, MD
- Hanin Ali, BS
- Chase Palisch
- Catherine Weaver, MD
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Erin F. Shufflebarger, MD, MSPH
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Shufflebarger is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She completed EM residency, a combined fellowship in Social Emergency Medicine & Population Health (SEMPH) and Global Emergency Medicine, and a Masters of Science in Public Health with concentration in health outcomes research at UAB. Dr. Shufflebarger is the fellowship director for the SEMPH fellowship and the co-director of the Equal Access Birmingham Street Medicine Clinic. Dr. Shufflebarger is also the Assistant Clerkship Director for the EM clerkship and Core Educational Faculty for the EM residency. Her academic interests include medical education and local/global health disparities.
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Christine M. Shaw, MD, DTMH
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
Dr. Christine Shaw MD, DTMH, is a Global and Social EM fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Department of Emergency Medicine. She completed her residency training at Louisiana State University at Shreveport, LA, and is currently working on her MSPH at UAB. Throughout medical school and residency Dr. Shaw has focused on providing care for people experiencing homelessness, including founding various outreach programs, starting a flu shot clinic, and establishing a free mobile bus clinic to improve access to care. As a fellow, Dr. Shaw continues to focus research on addressing health inequities within this population.
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Hanin Ali, BS
I am a graduate from University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. I am currently a third-year medical student at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. My hobbies include reading, hammocking, hanging out with friend's pets, and any water activity. I've recently got into crafts with air dry clay. -
Chase Palisch
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Catherine Weaver, MD
University of California
Dr. Catherine Weaver, MD, is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is the Medical Director of the UCLA Health Homeless Healthcare Collaborative (HHC). She is a founding leader of this innovative program that launched in January 2022 to bring the high-quality healthcare available at UCLA Health to our unhoused neighbors, meeting them where they are in the community on the streets, in encampments, and in shelters. The team has expanded from two mobile units to six full-time teams bringing primary care, urgent care, behavioral health and addiction services, and social support to patients throughout Los Angeles County. In addition to overseeing HHC clinical operations and quality and supporting the growth and innovation of this program, she collaborates closely with other street medicine teams and academic, government, and community partners to promote equitable access to healthcare and social support services throughout Los Angeles County and beyond. She is a member of the inaugural Advisory Committee for the California Street Medicine Collaborative, an organization consisting of street medicine providers, managed care groups, and other stakeholders throughout the state of California brought together to influence policy, advocate for financial support, and collaborate on program design.
Dr. Weaver also continues to practice Emergency Medicine. In her professional career, she has always been driven by one of the central principles of the Emergency Department (ED) as an entry point to healthcare: providing care to all regardless of their backgrounds. Prior to her role with HHC, she served as Assistant Medical Director of the UCLA Ronald Reagan ED. She has obtained multiple grants to establish and maintain a Substance Use Navigator program in both UCLA EDs and is currently collaborating on efforts to expand this into an ED-based Community Health Worker program. She continues to participate in numerous activities in the ED, hospital, and UCLA Health system to develop pathways to compassionate, equitable care for all. In addition to homeless healthcare, she has an interest in addiction medicine. She is a fierce advocate for fighting stigma not only in healthcare, but in society in general.
Dr. Weaver earned a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Classics at the University of Colorado at Boulder and received her medical training at Creighton University. She completed residency in Emergency Medicine at UCLA-Ronald Reagan/Olive View, followed by a fellowship in Emergency Medicine Administration with UCLA/VEP Healthcare. She is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Emergency Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians.