Healthcare for the Homeless

The Need

Between thirty-four (34%) and fifty (50%) percent of the Houston's nearly 10,000 homeless individuals have identified illness and/or health related conditions as the primary factor leading to their homelessness. A 1999 needs assessment survey showed that clients seeking healthcare services at existing clinic sites often were turned away because of limited capacity, that the unmet need for homeless healthcare is growing, and that the homeless continue to seek medical care primarily at hospital emergency rooms, the least effective and most costly option.

Strategic Plan For Year 2001

The mission of Healthcare for the Homeless - Houston is to promote health, hope, and dignity for Houston's homeless through accessible and comprehensive care. As a consortium of healthcare providers, HHH makes Houston the first major city in the U.S. to bring together a large number of community-based agencies, healthcare clinicians, educational institutions, and public organizations to forge a common strategic plan to effectively address the health needs of the homeless. The primary aim of this consortium is to increase access to quality healthcare while concurrently reducing costly and ineffective service duplication. Accordingly, HHH has developed a Strategic Plan that combines new endeavors with expansion of existing programs:...(continue)

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

HHH programs are coordinated through an Administrative Team consisting of a Medical Director and an Executive Director. The HHH Advisory Council incorporates representation from community-based agencies providing services to the homeless, healthcare clinicians, homeless ombudsmen, and referral agencies. Programmatic needs are identified through an annual needs assessment and recommendations from the Advisory Council. The Administrative Team develops a strategic plan to address these needs, which is given a vote of "confidence/no confidence" by the Advisory Council.