Memphis, Tenn., May 1, 2000 - In their daily struggle for survival, many homeless people with acute and chronic health problems do not seek medical attention until their problems get so severe they must go to an emergency room. In 1997, Baptist College of Health Sciences, with a grant from the City of Memphis, opened the HOPE Health Center for the Homeless to address this problem.

The HOPE Health Center's mission is to meet the immediate, non-critical health needs of the homeless by providing primary health care, preventive health information and guidance. By providing these services, the staff hope to decrease the unnecessary use of the city's emergency rooms for the non-emergent needs of the homeless.

The Center is the "ministry arm" of the Baptist College of Health Sciences, a four-year baccalaureate institution that offers degrees in nursing, respiratory therapy and radiological sciences. Many students from the College gain clinical experience by working at the HOPE Health Center. An advisory board, made up of representatives from every hospital in Memphis, offers guidance and support for the Center.

In addition to treating patients who come to the center, HOPE staff members help the homeless through a variety of outreach programs designed to take the clinic's health services to the people who need them most. Every Thanksgiving, the HOPE Health Center staff operate an acute care clinic as part of Memphis and Shelby County's "Memphis Feeds the Homeless and Hungry" event.

HOPE employees, with assistance from University of Tennessee-Memphis pharmacy students, visit about a dozen homeless shelters a year to give flu vaccines and immunizations. They also visit transitional housing facilities to conduct health education sessions on a number of issues, and, along with the Baptist College of Health Sciences, host the Summer Enrichment program for teenagers. One of HOPE's most successful collaborative community outreach programs is the effort to test and treat children with high levels of lead in their blood.

The HOPE Health Center has more than 1,800 new patients and has touched the lives of thousands more homeless people through its community outreach programs. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development recently renewed its grant to the HOPE Health Center for another three years. The $977,000 grant will cover 80 percent of the Center's personnel costs; HOPE must raise the other 20 percent through community support.

If you are interested in donating to the HOPE Health Center for the Homeless, or for more information, call 521-4673.

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