During a public health emergency, we must pay special attention to people experiencing homelessness and the providers who serve them. This population is more vulnerable to infectious disease, has a harder time accessing high-quality health care, and is often overlooked (or worse) during emergencies. Providers do the best they can but are often working with limited resources.
The two best steps the Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) community can take now is to implement enhanced infection control procedures and reach out to community partners working in shelters, housing programs, street outreach, food distribution centers, and other venues to discuss how to best mitigate the spread of this virus across the continuum of care.
Currently there are more questions than answers. Information is evolving very quickly while resources are continually being developing and circulated. The National HCH Council will continue to provide updates as they become available and post helpful resources on our influenza webpage.
