The homeless continuum of care center addresses the problem of homelessness in El Paso, Texas. It also has a dual purpose.

The first purpose is to address costs associated with the provision of health care services by supporting the premises of the City of El Paso’s priorities relative to health and homelessness, most notably through the financial leveraging of federal, state, and private resources that help advance the City of El Paso’s 10-year strategic plan towards ending chronic homelessness. To this end, the homeless clinic project provides individuals with medical and mental health care services and promotes health care and long-term self-sustainability.

The second purpose is to provide a suitable living environment to homeless persons by making available medical services that support the ongoing work and mission of the Homeless Coalition of El Paso to provide a seamless continuum of care with a strong focus on safety-net services and eventual independence for persons that find themselves homeless. The duality of the proposed homeless clinic project, now in its 13th year, is a significant contribution to the prevalent problem of homelessness in El Paso.

Services

Homeless persons receiving medical care under the broad definition of Continuum of Care (CoC) services at Centro San Vicente is best exemplified through the following explanation. Suppose a homeless person is referred to the homeless clinic from a member agency involved with the Homeless Coalition and supposing that the referred client is a single head of household (female) with 3 children between the ages of 3 to 11 years old. The initial steps taken under the Continuum of Care model is that the entire family is registered as per the clinic intake process. The adult is then examined by the nurse practitioner and a diagnosis is rendered upon having completed laboratory and x-ray services if warranted. Diagnostic services would then require a medical assistant, a licensed vocational nurse, and a laboratory technician. A treatment plan is established by the nurse practitioner and if medication is required, an in-house pharmacy is available for the adult patient to get her medications immediately.

In the event that a specific medication is not available, the main clinic on Alameda Avenue will expedite the necessary medication and will have it delivered to the homeless clinic within 24 hours. The same process is repeated for all three children. Supposing that a diagnostic or treatment service is not available at the homeless clinic, the patient is then provided transportation to the main clinic or the service is referred out. If public transportation is warranted, patients are provided bus passes or bus tokens to ensure that appointments are kept.

Centro San Vicente typically incurs the costs of having referred out a service to a third-party provider. Once the patient(s) have been stabilized and provided a treatment plan, they are then referred to case managers that intervene and conduct a full assessment of mental and social needs. At times referrals are given directly to case managers who upon assessment will refer the patient for medical services, counseling services, and psychiatric services and make referrals to outside agencies as needed. At the homeless clinic, licensed counselors are available to provide these services. Counseling session follow-ups are coordinated in one location, including psychiatric consultation with a licensed psychiatrist. The case managers coordinate all the follow-up services with the primary care and mental health divisions of the CoC model, including communication with the referring agency (ies).

Behavioral/Mental Health Care Services, Blood Pressure Monitoring, Cancer Screening, Case Management/Social Services, Diabetes Testing/Care, Electronic Medical Records, Flu Vaccinations, Health/Nutritional Education, Immunizations, Labs, Medication Prescribing, Medication Dispensing, Mental Health Counseling, Outreach, Physical Exams, Primary Health Care, Referrals for Specialty Care, STD Testing, Street Outreach, TB screening/education, Tobacco cessation, Transportation Services

Linkages

Centro San Vicente has linkages with the Homeless Coallition of El Paso, Aliviane, Veterans Administration, Community Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center of El Paso, El Paso Community College, University of Texas at El Paso, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Statistics

Estimated homeless population: 1,421

Patients served: 2,968