|
HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > HOMELESS TASK FORCE RECEIVES GRANT
Article published - August 15, 2008
Credit: PRESS DEMOCRAT
Homeless task force receives $33,000 grant for health care
By Jeremy Hay
A $33,000 grant from the Sisters of St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation will be used to increase health care access for homeless people in West County, Santa Rosa and Petaluma, activists said Wednesday.
The grant to the county's Task Force for the Homeless will be shared with three other agencies to multiply its effect, said Georgia Berland, the task force's executive officer.
West County Health Centers in Guerneville will be able to hire a part-time family nurse practitioner to provide clinical services to homeless clients.
A part-time administrator will be hired at the Santa Rosa Free Clinic, on A Street, which will expand its hours. Berland said that will help deliver more coordinated, efficient care.
In Petaluma, the Mary Isaak Center will pay a homeless intern to drive patients to medical appointments they might be unable to get to otherwise.
The task force is to develop countywide quality-of-care standards for the system, Berland said, tracking follow-up visits, coordinating each facility's work and adjusting the system to particular needs of homeless people.
A major goal is to make it less necessary for homeless people to go to emergency rooms for basic health care, which is more costly and leads to inconsistent care, she said.
There are perhaps 2,000 homeless people in the county, Berland said.
|
