NYC Health + Hospitals' Street Health Outreach & Wellness (Show) Program Brings Mobile Health and Social Services to Unsheltered Queens Residents
SHOW units offer primary care, wound care, mental health support, harm reduction services, and basic material necessities such as bandages The SHOW mobile unit will be stationed near Elmhurst hospital, neighborhood parks, and other common spaces to assist patients
Jun 30, 2023
Elmhurst, NY
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst today announced the launch of a Street Health Outreach and Wellness (SHOW) mobile unit to provide comprehensive healthcare services and social supports for residents of the Queens community who are unsheltered or living on the street. The SHOW program leverages the mobile medical model NYC Health + Hospital’s pioneered during the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health system’s foundational principles of patient-centered care and harm reduction to bring health care services to New Yorkers in need. The SHOW mobile unit at Elmhurst Hospital is currently stationed at Moore Homestead Park at Broadway and 45th Avenue on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Since the program’s launch in April 2021, SHOW teams have performed over 216,000 engagements with New Yorkers, providing nearly 90,000 COVID-19 tests, 21,000 medical consultations, 9,000 vaccinations, and 60,000 social work engagements.
“We are very happy to partner with NYC Health + Hospitals’ SHOW program to expand healthcare services for those experiencing homelessness in our borough,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst CEO Helen Arteaga-Landaverde, PhD. “Unfortunately, unhoused people often fall through the cracks within the healthcare system. They may need services but aren’t sure how to access care. This program gives us an opportunity to be proactive and reach out to those struggling due to the city’s ongoing housing crisis and get them the care that they need.”
“With SHOW, our goal is to broaden the doors to care by meeting patients where they are, and through that engagement and trust, connect them to comprehensive care within NYC Health + Hospitals facilities,” said Andy Cook, NYC Health + Hospitals Administrative Director for the SHOW program. “As we build that trust with our patients, we build lasting health and well-being.”
“Our Street Health Outreach + Wellness program builds on the great work of street medicine programs across the country, and demonstrates what we can achieve when we harness innovation, a focus on community, and feet-on-the-street energy in healthcare,” said Dr. Yinan Lan, NYC Health + Hospitals Medical Director for Homeless Health. “People who are living on the street experience an unraveling of physical and mental health — with this program, we aim to undo that unraveling, and help patients build back towards health and well-being.”
The SHOW program deploys a fleet of eight mobile health units across New York City to meet people historically disconnected from a continuum of care where they are, engage them, and invite them in for care without appointments, cost, or other barriers. Patients are assessed for care needs, and provided services including wound care, substance use treatment referrals, connections to primary care, snacks and hygiene supplies.
The SHOW van at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst is staffed by a comprehensive, patient-centered team of Elmhurst Hospital mental health and wellness staff, including a registered nurse or nurse practitioner, social worker, addiction counselor and community health worker. Staff will invite New Yorkers in for care or a roving team will meet them where they are, with focused outreach to those who are unsheltered or vulnerable. Staff will assess patients’ needs, and connected them to Elmhurst Hospital where they can receive ongoing medical care, including primary and preventive care and treatment for physical, behavioral or mental health needs.
NYC Health + Hospitals has worked to improve access to specialty care for unsheltered New Yorkers, reducing wait times for referrals from homeless health providers by 30 percent, and training more than 200 staff from more than 20 homeless health providers in the system’s electronic referral platform. This work is in addition to the system’s three Primary Care Safety Net Clinics at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Elmhurst and Woodhull. The Clinic integrates facility primary care clinical staff with Community Care staff and a housing navigator to provide wraparound services and meet the complex needs of unsheltered New Yorkers.
For more information on programs and services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, please call 718 334-4000 or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ElmhurstHosp.
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CONTACT: Atiya Butler, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, 917-319-5167
About NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system, is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. The 545-bed hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, an Emergency Heart Care Station, and a 911-Receiving Hospital. It is a premiere health care organization for several specialties, including surgery, cardiology, women’s health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services, and mental health services. Last year, the hospital received close to 700,000 ambulatory care visits and over 130,000 emergency room visits. The hospital has been nationally-ranked by US News and World Report in key areas, including COPD, Heart Failure, Heart Attack, Kidney Failure, Diabetes, and Stroke. Stay connected on Facebook.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.