Care For PA

Pennsylvania's hospitals are experts at providing care to those who come through their doors. From the 1.8 million inpatient visits, to the 33 million outpatient visits and 5 million emergency room visits, hospitals are providing healing, health, and hope to patients and families every day. Hospitals know, though, that caring for communities is more than just providing care to patients who come though the doors; it means extending care beyond hospitals' walls into communities and onto the streets. "Operation Safety Net" is doing just that to care for Pittsburgh's unsheltered and transient homeless individuals.

It was 1992 when Dr. Jim Withers, an internal medicine physician at the then Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh began providing medical care to the unsheltered homeless population directly on the streets of Pittsburgh. He partnered with formerly homeless individuals and, initially dressing as a homeless person, began to make nighttime street rounds in the alleys and under the bridges of the city. From this initial outreach service, other clinical volunteers joined and Operation Safety Net was born.

The program consists of 14 teams composed of formerly homeless and clinical volunteers (including aspiring physicians and nurses) who perform medical rounds by walking in the city's streets, alleys, and riverbanks each night, visiting those who have fallen through society's "health safety net." They deliver direct medical care for items such as wounds, infections, prenatal care, health counseling, and TB and HIV testing. They also provide mental health counseling, referrals to drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, and protection from severe weather conditions by handing out blankets and other items. Since its inception in 1992, Dr. Withers estimates that more than 6,000 individuals have received care or support through the street outreach program.

Operation Safety Net also utilizes a Medical Services Mobile Van, which serves as a "physician's office on wheels" and travels to distressed areas afflicted by poverty, drugs, and crime. The program also maintains the WellSpring Drop-in Clinic, where primary care services are provided free of charge. Combined, these programs have served an additional 6,000 people.

"Our homeless clients have taught us how to best serve them in the context of their real lives. Through deep, personal connection with individuals, we are able to partner with them to find solutions," says Jim Withers, M.D., medical director of Operation Safety Net.

By delivering care in the patients' environment--on the street--Operation Safety Net is redefining health care delivery in Pittsburgh and around the world. The program has received 38 awards from around the world and is recognized as one of the nation's first targeted full-time street medicine programs and continues to set the standard for this unique form of health care. Operation Safety Net is now a program of Pittsburgh's Mercy Behavioral Health.

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