About
What is Street Medicine?
Street Medicine is an area of clinical practice that focuses primarily on the needs of the unhoused community and people experiencing homelessness. Clinicians and healthcare workers work directly with patients outside the walls of the traditional clinical setting. Healthcare is brought to the patient wherever they currently reside.
This, often marginalized, community experiences an array of complex health situations and barriers to care within the healthcare system. These experiences may negatively impact health seeking behavior and trust in healthcare providers.Street Medicine teams work to establish a comfort level with this population, in order to provide comprehensive and compassionate care.
Street Medicine at JPS Health Network
As part of a collaborative agreement between Acclaim Physician Group and JPS Health Network, clinicians provide much needed health care services to the unhoused residents of Tarrant County. Originally established in 2014, the Acclaim Street Medicine program was the first program of it's kind in Tarrant County. As part of this effort, family medicine residents are given an opportunity to train with clinicians providing much needed care to this marginalized patient population.
Acclaim Street Medicine offers empathetic primary care visits to patients by meeting with them in their environment. The team assists patients in navigating health resources and social services available to the unhoused patient population, all while addressing their immediate health care needs. Building connections with patients and other key organizations helps the team understand how services are utilized and any existing barriers preventing access to these resources.
Acclaim Street Medicine in the News
The following video provides a glimpse into the work this team does every day for these vulnerable patients.