CalOptima Health Street Medicine Teams Bring Primary and Behavioral Care to Orange County Encampments and Shelters
CalOptima Health, Orange County's Medi-Cal managed care plan in Orange County, California, runs a Street Medicine program that sends clinical teams directly to encampments, shelters and street locations where people experiencing homelessness live, providing primary care, behavioral health services, and assessment and referral for substance use disorders to people who have difficulty reaching a clinic.
Under CalOptima's published service model, street medicine teams of physicians, nurses and outreach workers provide wound care, chronic disease management, vaccinations and mental health screening at fixed outreach sites and on mobile routes, and help patients book follow-up appointments, obtain medications and connect with housing services. The teams serve CalOptima's Medi-Cal members and coordinate schedules with county shelters, city outreach teams and nonprofit partners.
CalOptima says the street medicine approach is to build trust on the street first and then link people into regular care: many people experiencing homelessness avoid medical facilities because of transportation, identification and past experiences, and bringing care to encampments can reduce non-urgent emergency room use while getting common problems such as hypertension, diabetes and wound infections treated earlier.
Orange County has continued to expand outreach-based medical care for people experiencing homelessness. Residents who need help, or who know of an encampment needing medical outreach, can contact CalOptima member services or the county's housing and health outreach channels, and teams are dispatched on a regional schedule.
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Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 医护人员工作场景（资料图）。James Gathany 摄，美国疾病控制与预防中心，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A health care worker (file photo). Photo by James Gathany, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
