Dr. Jim Withers started Operation Safety Net, a legacy program of the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System in 1992, taking medical care to the homeless under bridges or wherever they might be. In 2005 he convened the first International Street Medicine Symposium in Pittsburgh for providers from around the world to share best practices. Dr. Withers is attending this year’s symposium in Atlanta.
Dr. Withers says he started taking medical care to the homeless because of the need and because he thinks a medical education should include how to serve patients on their own terms. Now he has students on waiting lists to participate, and many have gone on to establish programs in other cities.
Operation Safety Net, says Dr. Withers, is now a 24/7 medical delivery system with specialists from many disciplines helping the homeless to get primary care and avoid emergency rooms and to get shelter during severe weather. There is access to tuberculosis screening and legal services. 315 people have been housed over the past three years, 70% of whom are still in housing.
He’s found he can’t make people change, but when they see they’re not forgotten, that people care, they often make changes themselves.
Dr. Withers says his program has avoided any injuries to caregivers in seventeen years, which he attributes to respect and adequate preparation, and programs elsewhere have found the same.
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