KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Public Health - Seattle & King County is announcing a new federal grant for $247,677 for the Health Care for the Homeless Network to establish a wellness center for homeless adults in downtown Seattle's new YWCA Opportunity Place. The wellness center is scheduled to open in fall 2004, and will provide homeless people with access to medical, mental health and other needed services.
"By taking the services to the people and meeting them where they are, we can better support homeless people in their efforts to regain stable health and housing," said King County Executive Ron Sims.
"Health care is a right, not a privilege, and it's important we bring these vital services to our citizens who are most in need," said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. "The new wellness center will provide quality health care to hundreds of homeless women in our city, and will help us build a more healthy community."
"Homeless people suffer from communicable diseases and other health problems at rates much higher than those with stable housing," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "This program will help us address serious disparities in health status experienced by homeless people who have complex health issues."
The health care model for this site was developed by a community partnership among Public Health - Seattle & King County, the Health Care for the Homeless Network, Pioneer Square Clinic-Harborview Medical Center, and the YWCA of Seattle-King County-Snohomish County.
"The homeless face many obstacles in fully accessing health care. We look forward to continuing the work with our community partners to help decrease these barriers and provide people with high quality health care in a sensitive and responsive environment," said Dr. Nancy Sugg, Medical Director of Harborview's Pioneer Square Clinic.
With over 200 homeless women on the Opportunity Place premises each day, need is high for on-site health services. Services will be provided through Pioneer Square Clinic-Harborview Medical Center, which will staff and manage the program. Pioneer Square Clinic currently provides primary health care and treats acute health problems for adult patients in downtown Seattle, and it has expertise in working with the homeless population and site nurses in several area shelters.
"The wellness center will be a tremendous benefit to the homeless clients we serve at YWCA Opportunity Place," said Sue Sherbrooke, CEO of the YWCA of Seattle-King County-Snohomish County. "We see better, long term outcomes for people when they have all the services they need to stabilize and more forward with their lives."
YWCA Opportunity Place, located at 2024 Third Avenue in the Belltown neighborhood, is a 105,000-square foot, seven-story building that houses a day center for homeless women, employment services, and 145 units of permanent affordable housing. The new wellness center will be located on the first floor of the building. It expects to serve homeless people from Opportunity Place as well other homeless people in the neighborhood.
"This grant is part of a national HHS initiative to expand access to health care for low-income and vulnerable individuals and families," said Beverly Clarno, Regional Director for HHS Region 10. The Health Care for the Homeless Network grant award was one of 15 recent national awards by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
Health Care for the Homeless Network
The Health Care for the Homeless Network provides quality, comprehensive health care for people experiencing homelessness in King County and provides leadership to help change the conditions that deprive our neighbors of home and health. The Health Care for the Homeless Network collaborates with twelve community-based partner agencies to send care providers to work with homeless people in over 60 locations throughout King County.
Currently, the Seattle-King County Health Care for the Homeless Network provides care to over 8,000 homeless people annually in over 60 homeless sites countywide. With growing numbers homeless and uninsured individuals in King County, the Network has been unable to meet demand for services and currently reaches only about one-quarter of the homeless population. The Seattle-King County Coalition for the Homeless estimates that 8,000 people are homeless in King County on any given night. This is a 45 percent increase since 1998, when the figure stood at 5,500 people each night.
More information on the Health Care for the Homeless Network.
Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for over 1.8 million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day. |
