Street Health Outreach & Wellness (Show) Program Named Finalist in UCSF 2022 Digital Health Awards
SHOW recognized as Best in Class in the New Telehealth Innovation category for its groundbreaking work bringing medical and social resources to New Yorkers experiencing homelessness
Nov 01, 2022
NYC Health + Hospitals announced today that its Street Health Outreach & Wellness (SHOW) mobile program was named a finalist in the University of California, San Francisco | Health Hub Digital Health Awards competition. SHOW was recognized as Best in Class in the New Telehealth Innovation category for its groundbreaking work bringing medical and social resources to thousands of New Yorkers, with a focus on people experiencing homelessness. To date, the SHOW team has performed over 177,000 unique engagements with New Yorkers, providing over 84,700 COVID-19 tests, 18,500 medical consultations, 8,200 vaccinations and more than 53,000 social work engagements.
“When we talk about meeting people where they are, we mean it,” said New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “We know that this work takes sustained, thoughtful engagements with people experiencing homelessness and the SHOW model has given us a powerful tool in that effort. We are combining technological resources with skilled outreach professionals in order to deliver services in the moment, on the spot, and in times after each interaction. Thank you to all the teams across the city that do this work each and every day.”
“NYC Health +Hospitals’ SHOW program truly delivers on the City’s commitment to connect vulnerable New Yorkers to critical healthcare supports by actually meeting them where they are,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Gary P. Jenkins. “SHOW is an incredible example of how New York City continues to lead the way in implementing innovative solutions which prioritize and strengthen equity and access to care for some of our most vulnerable communities.”
“SHOW’s critical efforts to provide mobile health and social services to New Yorkers with limited access has revolutionized where and how we can treat patients in New York City, and created a model for other cities to follow,” said Amanda Johnson, Assistant Vice President in the Office of Ambulatory Care at NYC Health + Hospitals. “We are honored that the SHOW initiative was named a finalist for UCSF’s Digital Health Awards, and look forward to building upon the program’s success to bring life-changing healthcare to more vulnerable New Yorkers.”
“The SHOW program continues to distinguish itself by bringing technology-enabled care to underserved communities across New York City” said Lee Bienstock, Chief Operating Officer at DocGo. “We are grateful to work closely with NYC Health + Hospitals on this vital project over the past 18 months, and look forward to continuing this work. We hope municipalities across the US take note of New York’s health equity leadership, and launch similar programs to bring care to their underserved populations.”
Launched in April 2021, the Street Health Outreach + Wellness (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 pre-scheduled appointments, cost, or other barriers. In addition to offering vaccinations and no-cost COVID-19 and flu testing, patients are assessed for other needed care, including physical and mental health screenings and harm reduction services.
SHOW’s community-based mobile clinics are paired with roving medical teams comprised of an advanced practice provider (APP), paramedic, and social worker. These teams walk block by block to offer vaccinations, wound care, harm reduction resources, and other services to those living on the street, often in locations only accessible on foot like parks and subways.
SHOW’s efforts have connected thousands of people to services such as testing, vaccinations, COVID treatments, acute care, medication, primary care, mental healthcare resources, harm reduction services, and external resources people can employ to access food, clothes, a place to stay, and other critical services. By actively meeting individuals where they are, SHOW can address medical issues before they become full-blown crises, which reduces costly emergency room visits and hospital admissions. In addition, SHOW teams are able to build relationships with historically stigmatized populations, including those living on the street, earning patients’ trust and willingness to accept care.
This Spring, SHOW launched a Buprenorphine Treatment Pathway to connect New Yorkers struggling with opioid addiction to medication-assisted buprenorphine treatment through NYC Health + Hospitals’ Virtual Express Care Behavioral Health platform. The initiative has further expanded the options SHOW offers to provide comprehensive care for patients with Opioid Use Disorder.
The SHOW program utilizes DocGo’s HealthPoint software platform to look for trends and determine where to send SHOW units for the most effective impact and engagement with target populations. Patients with smartphone or internet access can use HealthPoint to review their information – once SHOW patients are registered in HealthPoint, DocGo can leverage its embedded telehealth platform to consult with physicians and prescribe medications at local pharmacies. HealthPoint is a HIPAA-compliant, patient-facing app that enables turnkey registration, reporting and data storage. HealthPoint is integrated with some of the largest electronic health record (EHR) systems in the nation, with the CDC for vaccination tracking, and with Tableau for robust data reporting.
The UCSF | Health Hub’s fourth annual Digital Health Awards recognizes, “the achievements of innovative health tech companies that are dramatically improving healthcare through the use of technology in the digital health industry.” Over 1,250 companies submitted award applications which were evaluated by a panel of over a thousand health experts in academia and the health and life sciences industries.
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Dr. Amanda Johnson, Assistant Vice President in the Office of Ambulatory Care, will speak at a Digital Fireside chat this afternoon. UCSF will announce winners for each award category in Las Vegas on November 14.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal healthcare 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 at https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem
About the NYC Test & Treat Corps
The NYC Test & Treat Corps is the City’s comprehensive effort to respond to COVID-19 by providing New Yorkers accessible, no-cost testing, rapid connections to COVID-19 treatments and resources to support those recovering from Long COVID. Through a partnership with NYC Health + Hospitals and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the NYC Test & Treat Corps provides New Yorkers equitable, widespread access to the critical tools for COVID-19 testing and treatment. For more information, visit testandtreat.nyc.
Contact: 212-788-3339; PressOffice@nychhc.org
About DocGo
DocGo is a leading provider of last-mile mobile care services and integrated medical transportation solutions. DocGo is disrupting the traditional four-wall healthcare system by providing high quality, highly affordable care to patients where and when they need it. DocGo’s innovative technology and dedicated field staff of certified health professionals elevate the quality of patient care and drive business efficiencies for facilities, hospital networks, and health insurance providers. With Mobile Health, DocGo empowers the full promise and potential of telehealth by facilitating healthcare treatment, in tandem with a remote physician, in the comfort of a patient’s home or workplace. Together with DocGo’s integrated Ambulnz medical transport services, DocGo is bridging the gap between physical and virtual care. For more information, please visit www.docgo.com.