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The National Health Care for the Homeless Council, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), has awarded $2.3 million to 15 health centers in 12 states to support the Community Vaccine Ambassador Project.
The Vaccine Ambassador Project focuses on increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates among three specific populations: people experiencing homelessness; individuals with substance use disorders; and individuals engaged in sex work. All three groups are at increased risk for COVID-19 infection, but have experienced barriers to accessing health care.
The 15 recipient programs are: Affinia Healthcare (St. Louis, MO); Alameda County Health Care for the Homeless (Oakland, CA); Alluvion Health (Great Falls, MT); Camillus Health Concern (Miami, FL); Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (Denver, CO); Columbus Neighborhood Health Center, dba PrimaryOne Health (Columbus, OH); CrescentCare (New Orleans, LA); Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (Lawrence, MA); JWCH Institute (Los Angeles, CA); OPTIMUS Health Care (Bridgeport, CT); Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners (Clearwater, FL); Public Health Management Corporation (Philadelphia, PA); Union Community Health Center (Bronx, NY); The Wright Center for Community Health (Scranton, PA); Yakima Neighborhood Health Services (Yakima, WA).
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Journal of Ethics Spotlights Health Care and Homelessness
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The November 2021 issue of the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics focuses on health care and homelessness and features contributions from several Council members and partners, and an introduction from Council CEO Bobby Watts.
The Journal of Ethics is a free, peer-reviewed monthly publication that averages more than 350,000 U.S. and international visitors each issue. You can learn more about the Journal and read November’s issue here.
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New HCH Community Survey: We Are Excited to Learn from YOU!
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The Council is happy to announce the launch of the 2021-2022 Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Community Survey. The survey, open to all health centers that are HCH grantees, will benefit our community as the first Council-led exploration of emerging practices, unique challenges, and creative solutions implemented at all HCH health centers.
The purposes of this survey are: 1) to ask tailored questions about HCH health centers that are beyond the scope of Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting; 2) to gather information from health centers that can be shared back to participants to provide an up-to-date review of HCH services and practices; and 3) to inform the work of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and improve our training and technical assistance to health centers through an improved understanding of strengths, needs, and emerging issues.
Our main hope for the HCH Community Survey is that it will be beneficial to you. The information gathered from HCH health centers across the country will be summarized and reported in Spring 2022. Your participation in this 20-25 minute survey will contribute to a valuable snapshot of the Health Care for the Homeless movement. For more details, you can visit the survey information page here.
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Building the Evidence Base for Medical Respite Care: A Participatory and Inclusive Research Agenda
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As momentum continues to build around medical respite/recuperative care (MRRC), it is increasingly important that the evidence base for this essential service grows and evolves, as well. Over the past year, the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC) convened MRRC programs from across the country to implement a stakeholder engagement project funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)*. The primary goal of the project was to collaboratively develop a research agenda that: 1) identifies high-priority research topics in MRRC; and 2) ensures that the voices of people with lived experience of homelessness are at the center of future research efforts.
In August 2021, 63 stakeholders (30 percent of whom had lived experience of homelessness) representing 22 geographically and structurally diverse MRRC programs participated in a two-day, virtual project summit. The discussions and insights captured during this summit informed the development of a robust research agenda for the field of MRRC, including recommendations for effectively engaging people with lived experience in the research process. As this publication is disseminated through the Council’s networks of MRRC providers, researchers, health care and social service organizations, policy makers, and people with lived experience of homelessness, we are confident that it will galvanize support for high-quality and participatory research that demonstrates the value and impact of MRRC.
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Homeless Persons' Memorial Day is December 21: Planning Resources Available Online
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On December 21, the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, we honor Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day (HPMD). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many communities amended or cancelled memorials last year; this year, we would like to encourage communities to come together to share in grief, love, and hope to move forward.
Visit the HPMD landing page to find a social media toolkit, updated Organizing Manual, and other resources to create a meaningful experience in your community. If you are holding an HPMD event, please register your event so others can attend, and if you have any questions about organizing an event, please reach out to Katherine Cavanaugh, Consumer Advocacy Manager, at kcavanaugh@nhchc.org.
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Medical Ethics in a COVID-Aware World: Listening Session Series in December and January
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Join us for our upcoming listening sessions discussing the unique ethical considerations that providers have experienced in the COVID-19 era. Bring members of your health center team and share your experience on topics including vaccine hesitancy, emergency shelter facilities, clinical care, and trauma and moral injury. The listening sessions will be held December 1, December 17, and January 14. Click the button below for more details.
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| | Council Voices in the News
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Support the Every Member Campaign!
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Donations to the annual Every Member Campaign help to support the work of the Council not covered by government grants, such as equity and advocacy. Every contribution, regardless of amount, is important. Every gift matters! Every dollar counts!
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National Health Care for the Homeless Council
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National Institute for Medical Respite Care
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| November 23, 2021 | Volume 4, Issue 11| Archives
Copyright © 2021 National Health Care for the Homeless Council, Inc.
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