Haight Ashbury Free Clinic Gives Way to Mobile Healthcare
HealthRight 360’s new mobile service builds on its community-based healthcare model that integrates treatment for people who are very low-income and often marginally housed or homeless.
SAN FRANCISCO—Approximately 50% of the homeless suffer from mental health and substance abuse issues, according to the Hoover Institution. And, San Francisco’s homeless budget is roughly $300 million per year.
In the quest to bridge the gap between assisting those in need and lowering costs, one healthcare firm is trying a different approach. HealthRight 360 recently unveiled its long-awaited Mobile Healthcare Services, extending the legacy of the nonprofit’s origins as Haight Ashbury Free Clinic. And, the mobile services expand its reach beyond the 30,000 people currently served at the organization’s brick-and-mortar sites across California.
“These are challenging times in healthcare, especially for the vulnerable populations we serve. Being able to provide mobile healthcare services is a huge step forward,” said Vitka Eisen, HealthRight 360 president and CEO. “Over the years, our clients have gotten sicker, they have many more complex health challenges, more co-occurring mental health conditions and fewer resources. Everyone is somebody’s child, somebody’s mother, someone who matters. We see the person and we’re here to heal.”
Funding was anchored by a significant anonymous donor and follow-on funding was provided by Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center, Veritas Investments and Wells Fargo Bank.
“Sutter and CPMC are proud to provide funds to help acquire and equip this medical bus. HealthRight 360 addresses the healthcare needs of the city’s homeless population including medical issues related to complications from behavioral health and substance use issues, with a focus on people seeking services in the high-need Tenderloin neighborhood,” said Dr. Warren Browner, CEO of Sutter’s California Pacific Medical Center.
Added support came from local apartment operator, Veritas.
“As a San Francisco company, it’s a privilege to give back to our community and support HealthRight 360’s innovative new mobile healthcare clinic on wheels,” said Yat-Pang Au, CEO of Veritas. “This clinic is providing essential services to vulnerable San Franciscans experiencing homelessness and addiction.”
HealthRight 360’s new mobile service builds on its community-based healthcare model that integrates medical, dental, mental health and substance use treatment for people who are very low income and often marginally housed or homeless. The street-based model is staffed by a range of medical providers and an outreach team. The mobile clinic has two complete exam rooms, a restroom and an elevator wheelchair lift. Currently operating in the Tenderloin neighborhood, the services will expand to Haight Ashbury and other San Francisco areas of great need.
“We already held a couple of soft-launch mobile events, and not only did our existing patients come by but we saw dozens of walk-ins, many of whom had not received medical or dental care for quite some time,” Eisen said. “We meet people wherever they are in life, without judgment, and it engenders a degree of trust among our clients that enables us to provide great depth of care.”
HealthRight’s goal is to demonstrate this first mobile clinic as a successful model and expand with more in San Francisco and the Bay Area. The firm has raised a large portion of the initial costs, with a larger goal of raising $1 million, says Dr. Ana Valdés, chief healthcare officer for HealthRight 360.
“Bringing our holistic whole-person view of healthcare to people exactly where they are is true patient-centered care and a key addition to San Francisco’s safety net that we have been a part of for over 50 years,” says Valdés. “Along with our core health services through the mobile site, I see expanding our collaborations with other social service resources to address not only healthcare needs but also those social determinants that hinder a person’s ability to be healthy.”
Moreover, the ability to serve a population’s medical needs on the spot and in a nonjudgmental way will assist in lowering emergency room visits and resulting spiraling costs.
“A clinic-on-wheels that will drive right up to the areas of greatest need and provide high quality, non-judgmental services is guaranteed to reduce emergency department visits that are a high cost to the city,” says San Francisco supervisor Vallie Brown. “Over time, staff can build trusting relationships with people who have lived on the margins and connect them with other resources like addiction treatment and job training.”
Au points out that most basic needs are accomplished in this one location.
“This new mobile healthcare clinic will be providing essential services to the city’s most at-risk citizens, and we’re so excited to be able to contribute to the urgent work care providers are doing,” Au tells GlobeSt.com. “I was impressed by HealthRight 360’s mission to deliver a full spectrum of basic medical, dental and mental health services to those in need in one mobile location.”
Au also called out the mobile clinic’s distinctive design, which harkens back to the 60s and the beginning of the free clinic.
“I also want to give a special shout-out to the Veritas graphic design team and especially Natasha Wallace who helped create the groovy tie-dye design of the van wrap,” he says. “It’s distinctive in reflecting HealthRight360’s roots as the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic and will be easily recognized when it comes to neighborhoods to meet patients and clients.”