The healthcare issue that needs to be addressed is wellness clinics for un

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Southern New Hampshire University *

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670

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Health Science

Date

Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by DukeBraveryQuetzal24

The healthcare issue that needs to be addressed is wellness clinics for un- or under insured. The purpose of wellness clinics are to help reduce health care costs and alleviate health risks for people who are in need. This is especially true for individuals who are under insured or who are not insured. The reason this issue needs addressed is the only source of care or treatment that can be sought for these individuals is at a hospital or express care that will later cost patients an arm and a leg. The specific location that I would like to study is the area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh region has a vast population that includes many cultures and ethnicities but the target population that I would like to focus on is the homeless (Felton, 2023). The numbers of homeless individuals in the Pittsburgh area have risen significantly since 2019. As of January 24, 2023 the number of individuals that was accounted for were 913; 758 were staying in shelters and 155 were living on the streets (Collins, 2023). The total number of homeless individuals can be broken down even further. The majority of the individuals that are homeless total 676, this number accounts for adults only, youth individuals age 18-24 totaled 52, and children totaled 155. Out of 913, 548 were male, 358 were female, and 7 identified non binary (Collins, 2023). These numbers are broken down even further into race. Four hundred and thirty two individuals were African American and 387 Caucasian. Seventy five individuals that are homeless classified as multiracial. When an individual goes to a shelter to seek food and a bed to sleep in they are asked questions that help identify and gather information for statistics and within those statistics 36 were veterans, 136 domestic violence survivors, and 208 were chronically homeless (Collins, 2023). The two key characteristics that will be used when designing the program will be location and supply and demand. The reason for location is to determine a good area to set up a wellness

clinic were these individuals can gain easy access. The reason for supply and demand is how quickly we can get the proper equipment to help treat these people quickly and efficiently. The overall goal for wellness clinics for the homeless is to help improve their overall health and better the economy. Two measurable outcomes that can happen from implementing a wellness clinic is better health for these individuals and decreased numbers in hospitalizations. Amongst homeless individuals the most common health concerns are hypertension, asthma, diabetes, HIV/AIDs, and tuberculosis (Pierce, 2022). There are many challenges that can be faced when trying to implement a wellness clinic for the homeless and the biggest one I see being a problem is finding staff that is willing to help aid these individuals. When people hear the word homeless they tend to get uncomfortable and also assume that individuals chose that life and weren’t willing to be an active participant in society, but from the numbers more than half didn’t choose this lifestyle. Health disparities can partake in the homeless population in numerous ways but the two health disparities I believe they will face are structural racism and sexual orientation. Structural racism has been around since the beginning of time. Racism occurs daily and tends to be an issue because of the color of one’s’ skin and it has been an issue for major Pittsburgh hospitals as well. To ensure that this does not happen individuals that are hired at the wellness clinic will be a diverse group of individuals that are well suited to handle anyone and anything that walk through the doors to seek treatment. Wellness clinics have to factor in health disparities to help ensure that they don’t happen. Health disparities occur without some people even knowing. It is important that they are identified and handled accordingly so they do not impede caring for the homeless at the wellness clinics.

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