Community Medicine
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12503/21680
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Browsing Community Medicine by Author "Dolan, Kathryn J."
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Item Current Endeavors to Support the Homeless Population of Fort Worth(2017-03-14) Alavi, Michael; Burgess, Lauren; Dolan, Kathryn J.; Phillips, KaitlinPurpose: The aim of this research was to identify and explore current solutions in supporting the homeless population in Fort Worth, Texas, particularly through the services provided by local non-profit organizations. Methods: We identified the terms of eligibility, services provided, service access, and barriers to effective outreach provided by five local non-profit organizations, including John Peter Smith Health Network, Tarrant County Samaritan Housing, Arlington Life Shelter, Salvation Army DFW, and Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County. Results/Conclusions: Frequent terms of eligibility include valid U.S. identification and proof of low-income or homeless status, and common service access methods include hospital referrals, word of mouth, and flyers in well-populated public areas. Services provided included shelter, aid in employment search, navigation to health services, and a variety of supportive services to integrate those who have been recently homeless into society. These organizations have encountered multiple barriers to effective outreach, such as client mental illness, client lack of appropriate paperwork, shortage of affordable housing, and transportation difficulties. Non-profit organizations in Fort Worth provide varying degrees of support for the homeless population and have identified areas for improvement that that citizens, volunteers, local government, and the organizations themselves can consider in broadening their outreach.Item JPS Community Clinics(2017-03-14) Corjay, Ryan; Gnasigamany, Jason; Griffin, Brandon; Luu, Stephanie; Dolan, Kathryn J.; Vandermause, MatthewObjective: Approximately 41 million Americans are thought to be living in poverty which includes 21% of all children and 12% of adults and translates into 291,534 individuals in Tarrant County. Low-income individuals often lack access to the most basic primary health care services, including women’s health, pediatric services, and basic dental care. This project was undertaken to identify the safety net of community-based healthcare for people living in poverty in Tarrant County. Materials and Methods: The following JPS community clinic resources were identified using TarrantCares.org, Tarrant County 211 websites, the JPS website, and visits to the JPS main hospital and Viola Pitts/Como Community Health Center. Results: This led us to identify the most significant nonprofit primary health care resources provided by the Tarrant County Hospital District, JPS Health Network, which includes comprehensive community health clinics as well as school-based clinics. Careful consideration of the community clinic capacities, eligibility requirements, and overall barriers to care experienced by individuals suggests the JPS community clinics are providing a much-needed healthcare service in Tarrant County. JPS continuously adapts to the changing needs of the underserved community by delivering culturally competent care to very diverse patient populations and by implementing the community needs assessment and improvement plan. Additionally, JPS trains its workforce to deliver patient education for self-management of chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Conclusions: JPS Health Network provides broad medical coverage for persons in poverty and for persons without adequate access to health care in Tarrant County through the JPS community clinics. Room for improvement in health coverage was identified as the need for increased access to care for persons with behavioral health issues, the need for expansion of school-based clinics, new and improved modalities for patient education, and further reduction of preventable ED visits.