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Soft tissue infection and follow-up for an unsheltered patient: the role of Street Medicine providers in bridging gaps in care
  1. Taha Faiz Rasul1,
  2. Orly Morgan1,
  3. Adam Elkhadem2 and
  4. Armen Henderson1,3
  1. 1 Medical Education, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA
  2. 2 College of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, New York City, New York, USA
  3. 3 Internal Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA
  1. Correspondence to Taha Faiz Rasul; tfr22{at}med.miami.edu

Abstract

Street Medicine is a volunteer-run initiative for low-resource healthcare settings. Formed to bridge gaps in care for persons experiencing homelessness, these organisations work to provide preventative medicine through maintenance care and follow-up. However, there are limits to what Street Medicine can accomplish given the geographical radius covered, lack of available transportation options and vulnerable sleeping locations night to night for the patients served. The subject of this case report is a middle-aged Spanish-speaking unsheltered man who began his care with a Street Medicine team. He was unable to attend medical appointments due to relocation, complicating his disease course and resulting in hospital intervention for cellulitis. Post-discharge, he stayed within radius and was treated by the street team. Increased emphasis on the effects of housing insecurity and addressing social determinants of health could prevent deterioration of manageable diseases and should be an area of active interest for Street Medicine team expansion.

  • Public health
  • Global Health
  • Occupational and environmental medicine

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Footnotes

  • Contributors TFR—manuscript preparation, initial thesis, direct patient care, image and flow chart illustration. OM—manuscript revision and corrections. AE—manuscript revision and corrections. AH—direct patient care and manuscript revision.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.