Clinician Home Visit Program
Homelessness, inadequate transportation, serious illness and physical limitations are the key barriers that keep many people from receiving the proper health care they need and deserve. Attending in-person clinic appointments can be overwhelmingly burdensome for some and impossible for others. Even with the assistance of a caretaker, it can be difficult to consistently manage one’s health.
For those experiencing homelessness or housing instability, scheduling a doctor’s appointment is negligible; your immediate priority is finding a meal and a place to rest on any given night. For those experiencing limited physical mobility or who are wheelchair-bound, having access to specialized transportation fitted to their needs is difficult to obtain. These challenges often lead to further negative health implications for patients.
Direct Relief Fund
In order to relieve some of the pressures experienced by our patients, we have developed a program to expand the individualized healthcare model to not only meet people’s needs, but to also meet them exactly where they are. AltaMed’s Clinician Home Visit Program provides primary in-home and street care to patients and families who face physical or socio-economic limitations that prevent them from receiving clinic-based care.
The Clinician Home Visit team goes to the patients – no matter where they are – a loved one’s home, a garage, a parking lot or even a sidewalk.
Each Clinician Home Visit team consists of three AltaMed staff: a physician, a registered nurse and an assisting nurse. These skilled staff members are able to provide well-rounded care to each patient. The Clinician Home Visit Program ensures that individuals and families do not fall through the cracks of a healthcare system that is not designed with their limitations in mind.
In addition to regular family medicine visits, AltaMed’s Clinician Home Visit Program offers palliative care to individuals suffering from serious and complex illnesses. This interdisciplinary care approach also involves providing critical support to family members grieving the recent loss of a loved one.
Ana, one of our beloved patients, was suffering from pancreatic cancer and knew that she wanted to be treated at home for the remainder of her time. AltaMed’s Dr. Bui, Registered Nurse Timmie and Assisting Nurse Lucy were able provide pain management to Ana and grieving support to her family after she passed.
The pandemic has caused a surge in demand for this program. In February of this year alone, we saw a 44% increase in patients receiving treatment through this program, with a total of 240 active patients in clinician home care.
What You Can Do
With your generous giving, AltaMed is able to develop and expand health service programs with each and every patient in mind. Everyone, regardless of housing, transportation, or mobility, deserves to be cared for with a model that fits their specific needs. To support AltaMed’s Clinician Home Visit Program and our goal to increase our patient reach, please consider giving at altamedfoundation.org/donate.
Help us deliver a better tomorrow for our communities
All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Our Tax ID number is: 95-2810095.
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