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Medical care van to treat homeless
By KATHRYN WEXLER, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- Robert Lang, who sleeps on the streets, says his high blood pressure sometimes makes him pass out. Since an incapacitating accident when he was a trash collector left him without a home, Lang hasn't had much energy or cash for things like medication, he said. Lang, 34, is exactly the type of person the Hillsborough County Homeless Coalition had in mind when it applied for a state grant to buy a van to roam the county and provide basic medical care to homeless people. The coalition got its wish. In the coming weeks, Hillsborough will receive $250,000 in challenge grant money, a portion of which will go to purchase and equip the van. The medical unit is the first in the county and will be up and running in a month, said Jim Joyce, supervisor of Hillsborough's Homeless Recovery Program. "I think (the grant money is) going to have a tremendous impact," Joyce said. "The real crowning investment is having that medical unit out there. This will help us develop relationships with people staying in camps, who are harder to reach." Homeless advocates say the van will help them contact a large portion of homeless people who suffer from some illness and haven't had continuous medical care. Many ailments go untreated without access to transportation, information about where to get help and the initiative to follow up. "That's our biggest problem with our clients, that we can't locate them," said Ike Thomas, senior social worker at the Sine Domus Health Center, a free clinic on Governor Street just north of Cass Street. "This will help." Lang, playing a game of chess before dinner at the Salvation Army on Tuesday, said the van might help people like him. "That's a good idea," he said. "Some people can't get up there to that (free) clinic." The van will circulate daily throughout the county, from leafy homeless encampments in rural Hillsborough to downtown city streets. The unit will also head to feeding sites. The services are free to the homeless. The grant will also help cover costs for a second van used for outreach and social service referrals. That van will travel alongside the medical van. Lack of regular meals, showers and clean clothes take a heavy toll on the health of homeless people, say those who work with them. Chronic health problems include fungus, diarrhea, asthma and diabetes, Thomas said. People sleeping outdoors often need topical medications for spider and insect bites, he said. The medical van will be staffed by a physician's assistant and, at times, a doctor, said Al Fernandez, outreach coordinator for the Tampa Community Health Centers, Inc. The physician's assistant will be equipped to take blood to test for diseases including HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis. The samples will be processed in a lab. Homeless workers hope to reconnect with the sick and get them the drugs or referrals to specialists. Free bus passes will be handed out if a followup office visit is needed. Vladimir Walker said he came to Tampa from Virginia four months ago after his father died and he lost the home they shared. Since he has no permanent residence here, Walker schleps two duffel bags and a jean jacket everywhere he goes, including to the free clinic on Governor Street for pills to treat his seizures. He smiled broadly when told that medical care will soon be able to come to him. "That's wise and necessary and needed," said Walker, 41, waiting in line for a free 4 p.m. meal. -- Kathryn Wexler can be reached at 226-3383.
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Headlines From the Times local news desks Howard Troxler |
