What are Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) programs?
HCH programs deliver primary health care to people who are homeless. Services are provided at the same high-quality level of care that most people get from their own doctors. People receiving HCH services often have serious, multiple diagnoses. In response, HCH programs are multidisciplinary. We also use outreach to address many barriers to health care. For people who are homeless, these barriers include poverty and the lack of access to mainstream services. We believe everyone has the right to health care and housing. Q. What services do HCH programs provide to consumers? We try to be very consumer-oriented. Consumers can expect to be seen by us whether they can pay or not. They can expect to be treated with respect and to participate in decisions about their care. People who are homeless get sick with common illnesses much more often than people who are housed. These illnesses may include upper respiratory infections, circulatory problems, diabetes, or wounds. HCH provides primary he
