Medi-Cal Fosters Collaboration of Health Care, Homeless Service Providers
CHCF July 25, 2024
More than 20 years ago, I stepped into a clinic in San Francisco that provided health care to people experiencing homelessness. I was a new medical resident, wide-eyed and eager to use my training to help society’s most marginalized people, but I had little understanding of how to accomplish that goal.
The clinic’s patients became my teachers. They humbled me with their stories of unimaginable suffering and astonishing strength. And they taught me a critical lesson: To improve people’s health, we must address their social needs, including housing. That realization changed the trajectory of my career. Today, I have spent most of my professional life working to advance our health systems’ care of people who are unhoused.
Key to this...