THE VIEW Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program / Fall/Winter 2013 FROM THE BRIDGE This issue: Bring us Your Briefs p2 / reclaiming Marathon Monday p3 / Patient-centered Medical home p5 www.bhchp.org A Message From Barry Bock, Chief Executive Officer Since 1985, • Finally, one untraditional goal among Our Mission: The mission of Boston Boston Health health care providers that we at Health Care for the Homeless Program Care for the BHCHP hold dear is to see that all (BHCHP) is to provide or assure access Homeless persons are housed, without which to the highest quality health care Program true health equity cannot be realized. (BHCHP)’s for all homeless men, women and I have the honor of being CEO, which is a mission has been children in the greater Boston area. recent development for me after nearly to provide or We Offer: Primary Care, twenty-three years with BHCHP; I have assure access Behavioral Health, Oral Health, proudly assumed the role after serving as to the highest Family Services, Case Management, the organization’s COO for fifteen of those quality health Addictions Services, Medical years. I am as humbled to be leading care for all homeless men, women and Respite Care, and Outreach this organization as I am grateful for its children throughout Greater Boston. We existence and for the vibrant and skilled accomplish this by hiring a motivated caregivers who bring our mission to life. and dedicated staff, deploying them to where our patients are: the street, I have had the pleasure of meeting shelters, soup kitchens, and hospitals. many of you over the years through tours, events, or various speaking Our goal, and my vision, is to care for engagements. However, as CEO, one of patients where they are and to do so my privileges is to sign thank-you letters without judgment. We strongly desire to all the supporters of our program. I to break the cycles of homelessness cherish the opportunity to get to know and poor health, and we recognize you—even if it’s only on paper. that health care plays a central role in preventing these negative spirals. BHCHP is a program of firsts: having created the first respite program, first Today, we face these challenges in the Consumer Advisory Board, along with We Are: Administrative Staff, Building new light of health care reform. Thank- dozens of innovations in care delivery & Maintenance Staff, Case Managers, fully, our goals and those of the Com- models all to serve a remarkable group Dental Assistants, Dentists, Food monwealth and the nation are aligned: of patients. I hope you take some pride Services Staff, Behavioral Health • To improve the health of the individual of ownership—much of what we do is & Substance Abuse Counselors, patient, which we do through the made possible by your support and Community Health Workers, Benefits provision of exceptional care; contributions—for that I thank you. Enrollment Specialists, nurse • To improve the health of the Practitioners, Physicians, Physician if you would like the opportunity to see our population, which we do through Assistants, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, work firsthand, i encourage you to visit us and assertive outreach and public health Registered nurses, Social Workers, meet our remarkable staff and patients. Please interventions; contact Linda o’connor at 857.654.1050 or Respite Aides, and AmeriCorps/ • And to control costs, which we believe [email protected] for more information. Community HealthCorps Members we have a responsibility to do, as do all health care providers. The View from the Bridge is a publication of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, bridging the gap between homelessness and health 24/7/365. For additional information please contact: Linda O’Connor, Director of Development, ([email protected]) at 857.654.1050 or Allison Whittier, Communications & Donor Relations Coordinator, ([email protected]) at 857.654.1044. Our Story Founded in 1985, BHCHP employs the adults with complex conditions like *A partial list of BHCHP’s partners professional medical staff that manages cancer, heart disease, pneumonia and includes: Above & Beyond/Brookview, the clinics and delivers the compre- diabetes who are too sick to live in Anchor Inn, Asian Task Force Against hensive health care at most of greater a shelter or on the street and would Domestic Violence, Boston Family Shelter, Boston’s adult, family and domestic otherwise require prolonged and costly Boston Living Center, Boston Medical violence shelters (Pine Street Inn, hospitalization in the acute care rooms Center, Bridge to Recovery, Brookview The new England Center for Homeless of Boston’s hospitals. House, Cardinal Medeiros Center, Veterans, St. Francis House and more Carolina Hills Shelter, Casa Esperanza, When you support BHCHP you reach than 80 others).* BHCHP is the hands Casa nueva Vida, Church of the Advent, children and adults throughout greater Crittenton Women’s Union, Crossroads, and face of health care for over 12,000 Boston’s entire safety net community DOVE, The Eighth Pole at Suffolk Downs, homeless adults and children each when they are not only homeless but Entre Familia, Families in Transition, year at sites as diverse as Horizons for also sick. Father Bill’s & Mainspring, Finex House, Homeless Children and the crawl space Hildebrand Family Shelter, hopeFound, under the Longfellow Bridge. BHCHP has Horizons for Homeless Children, Housing operated in-the-black while delivering Families, Inc., Kingston House, Latinas medicine that matters to Boston’s most “When you support BHCHP y niños, Lindemann Center, Long Island vulnerable population for over 28 years. you reach children and Shelter, Margaret’s House, Massachusetts In addition, BHCHP staffs, manages and General Hospital, Massachusetts delivers comprehensive health care at adults throughout greater Mental Health Center, Millenium House, 2 hospital-based clinics on the campuses Boston’s entire safety net nazareth Residence, new England Center of Massachusetts General Hospital and for Homeless Veterans, Paul Sullivan Boston Medical Center and at a clinic community when they are Housing, Pilgrim Shelter, Pine Street Inn, on the backstretch at Suffolk Downs Portis Family House, Project Hope, Queen of Peace Shelter, Renewal House, Revision Racetrack. BHCHP also staffs, manages not only homeless but House, Rosie’s Place, Safe Harbor, Project and operates our own Barbara McInnis also sick.” SOAR, Sojourner House, South End House at Jean yawkey Place, a 104-bed Community Health Center, St. Francis medical respite facility for homeless House, St. Mary’s Women’s & Infant Center, St. Ambrose, The Women’s Lunch Place, and Woods-Mullen Shelter LAWyers: BrinG uS Your BriefS Briefs are nothing out of the ordinary connect with to the law community. However, to the BHCHP OnlinE homeless community, they are. Having access to this simple, daily essential is as Read our patient stories and much about dignity as it is hygiene. Join learn how to get involved at BHCHP in our second-annual drive to www.bhchp.org collect new undergarments for Boston’s homeless men and women. Every donation will help deliver comfort to one of the 12,000 patients that BHCHP cares for at more than 80 locations Subscribe to our YouTube throughout Greater Boston. BHCHP channel encourages participation by any group of legal professionals or individuals Follow us on Twitter @BHCHP that would like to collect briefs for for daily updates our patients. Last year over 1,100 Like us on Facebook and keep undergarments were collected! up with BHCHP news for further information and additional assistance on the Lawyers, Bring us Your Briefs drive, please contact Margaret Boles fitzgerald, director of corporate and foundation relations, at [email protected]. 2 Team BHCHP: recLaiMinG MaraThon MondaY twenty years. She was in the company of Team BHCHP collectively raised nearly numerous other medical professionals $25,000, surpassing their fundraising caring for people who’d fallen ill from goal of $20,000. Because of their drive their 26.2-mile run when the first bomb and ingenuity, BHCHP was proud to have went off. been able to make an organizational donation to the OneFund Boston to When the second bomb went off a few support the needs of victims and their seconds later, Toni had just disconnected families. the IV of the runner she was attending to before the wheelchairs began rolling into We would like to recognize additional the tent. BHCHP staff members for their efforts and responsiveness during the Marathon “...We worked as a team in every aspect aftermath: Claire Anagnostopulos, nicole of care, coordination, and mission. Ashton-Rice, Maggie Beiser, Denise Team BHCHP—(L–R) Sam Clark, Billie, Starks, Some volunteers were there for the Bill Ritchotte, and Ted VanderLinden— De Las nueces, Ashley Forde, Herby at a pre-race event at Brandy Pete’s. first time and others are die-hards who Formilus , Barbara Giles, Heidi Groff, love the energy and camaraderie that Theresa Kim, Shane Leblanc, Andrew we experience on Marathon Monday,” Lopez, Peggi Marini, Joyce McCrevan, Toni reflected. “none of us dreamed we Running a marathon is no small Katherine Orlin, Javier Pagan, Martha would be facing the horrific, traumatic feat: the countless hours of training, Paquette, Denise Petrella, Betsy Stanley, injuries that we saw that day.” boundless dedication, and sheer Mark Stroman, and Melinda Thomas. athleticism required to propel one’s body In the wake of the tragic events that Thanks to the generosity of the John hancock 26.2 miles. ensued on April 15th, the entire city non-Profit Marathon Program, we’ve been of Boston came together in support fortunate to field a team for the past three For Billie Starks, LICSW, an addiction years. for more information about BHCHP’s of victims, survivors, and all others counselor for Boston Health Care for the 2014 team, please contact alyssa Brassil or affected by the tragedy.