A new mobile clinic opened on the streets of Costa Mesa this month, becoming the city's second clinic to provide on-demand medical services to homeless people in Orange County.
The CalOptima Health Street Medicine Program provides health and social services to unhoused people in a county where a total of 7,322 people are experiencing homelessness, according to a Point in Time count from May.
The program is run out of a van driven by Alec Bradberry, a nurse at Celebrating Life Community Health Center, which is affiliated with CalOptima.
“We have a medical team that does physical exams and treats patients' symptoms,” he said of his colleagues, who are licensed practical nurses and mental health specialists. “We have wound dressings and medications. We have treatment equipment.”
As of Wednesday, the program was in its eighth day in Costa Mesa, where 300 people are homeless, according to county officials.
“We've seen 10 patients so far, three of whom hadn't had a primary care appointment in decades,” Bradbury said, “and one of them hadn't had a medical appointment outside of the emergency department and the prison.”
The program started in Garden Grove about 16 months ago, and Caloptima said it helps people experiencing homelessness with the ultimate goal of getting off the streets permanently.
“Since then, more than 315 unhoused people have been assisted through this program,” said Yoon-Kyun Kim, CalOptima's chief operating officer, “and we are proud that 12 of them have been able to find permanent housing.”
“When it comes to the most chronically homeless in our community, we have to go where they are,” said Supervisor Katrina Foley, who represents the county's District 5. “We have to build trust, and programs like the Street Medicine Program help treat people on the streets, treat their illnesses, treat their health concerns.”
Bradbury said so far the majority of people he has approached have been receptive to help, which is why bringing services to the streets is working.
“We've only had a few people turn us down,” he said, “and a few people who turned us down sought us out that same day and applied for services.”
