So today this nurse of the street went on a walkabout into the neighborhoods. I walked through the affluent and into the marginalized past the man made barriers that divide once connected neighborhoods. The pictures speak volumes of the disparity both in wealth and in health.
To this nurse if we are to begin to solve homelessness we must seek to prevent it. Health care must include social justice and uplifting all our neighborhoods. So today I spent time talking to individuals and family’s that live in our marginalized neighborhoods. We talked about health care access, food inequity (food deserts) and displacement caused by gentrification.
As health care professionals we must “go to the people” where ever they are and learn from and about them in order to care for them. I sometimes laugh at a commercial on TV where a busy dad talks about deep couch sitting for me today was deep porch sitting no IT disruption face to face connecting.
I also spent some time at the Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic – JVMC student run clinic reviewing labs of a mutual patient and collaborated with Dr. Harmeet Bhullar Associate Clinical Professor at UC Davis School of Medicine and Sarah Johnson MS1 the clinic co director about future care. Tomorrow while doing rounds in the camps I will be able to share the results and discuss follow up options. Walked more then 7 miles so took care of my health as well.