Author: McLaren Flint
We want to share a few of the ways McLaren Flint leadership, physicians, medical residents and fellows, and clinical and support staff are sharing their knowledge and skills to promote better health and well-being throughout Flint and Genesee County. These community connections come from a desire to make a difference in the health of all residents, no matter their age. Our Vision: McLaren Flint will be the recognized leader and preferred provider of primary and specialty healthcare services to the communities of mid-Michigan. This week we introduce you to……
Street Medicine Outreach-In August of 2022 Dr. Jim Withers, an internationally renowned expert physician on Street Medicine lead McLaren Flint residents in a “classroom of the streets” to help homeless patients receive medical care. His visit included a lecture, a small group discussion at Carriage Town Ministries health care clinic, and an effort to find and reach out to, those living on the city’s streets.
McLaren Flint Family Medicine Residency Program, with the help of the McLaren Flint Foundation and the Graduate Medical Office, has started its own Street Medicine curriculum to teach family medicine residents how to take care of people experiencing homelessness. The connection with Dr. Withers was made by McLaren Flint Family Medicine Resident Meghana Swamy, MD who was asked to come up with a blueprint for such a program by its director Prabhat K. Pokhrel, MD, MS, PhD, FAAFP.
During his visit, Dr. Withers commended the residency program and said, “Going directly to this unique group of individuals not only helps them get healthcare but can also lead to them getting housing and the other things they deserve.”
The Family Medicine Residency Program also partners with Carriage Town Ministries to offer free health screening clinics.