Hamilton County Health Department Homeless Health Care Center Covid 19 response

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

I. ABSTRACT – We are applying for a 2022 Achievement award for the Hamilton County Health Department Homeless Health Care Center program. The HHCC is a Federally Qualified Health Center. We are part of the nation’s largest health care safety network providing high quality, culturally competent, comprehensive primary care and supportive social services to people experiencing homelessness in our community. All of our services are provided regardless of ability to pay. We have been in operation since 1987 in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. Our grantee is the Hamilton County Health Department. This relationship with the county public health authority put the HHCC in the perfect position to respond to the expanded needs of the population we serve from the beginning of the pandemic. We stayed open for face to face visits from Day # 1 providing routine primary care, dental and social services and quickly adding on the additional services needed due to the COvid 19 pandemic. We were also a resource for other homeless service providers in the community advising them on how to adapt their delivery system design to meet the needs of their clients while following guidelines for social distancing and Infection Control Practices. Our multidisciplinary staff of talented and dedicated professionals never wavered in our mission despite the long hours, additional tasks and inherent risks of contracting a potentially deadly virus.