BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Moudi Hubeishy wants to bridge the gap between the healthcare system and the homeless. Growing up in Rochester and working in the school district, he's been privy to poverty firsthand.
"I saw the real impact it had. When I came into medicine I said this is exactly what medical students should be exposed to,” said Hubeishy.
The UB Medical student, along with several of his colleagues, have worked for the last year on UB HEALS - street medicine outreach focused on preventative care. The group goes on rounds Tuesdays and Thursdays, traveling the streets, Metro stations, and shelters.
"Everything from acute medical emergencies sending people to the ER,” Hubeishy said. “Also small things like, ‘I don't know what kind of medication I'm taking can you explain it to me?’"
Putting trust in the team is something that has been cultivated since it started last March. Folks with the Matt Urban Hope Center, their partner, understand that concept all too well.
"Lot of these people don't trust the doctor, don't want to go to the doctor and their health suffers. Their physical health suffers, mental health suffers,” said Kim Burlingame, a registered nurse with the Center.
Another way students increase their approachability is by dressing down - trading in white lab coats for jeans and a sweatshirt.
"We want to make it clear the person we're seeing is in power. This is true patient-centered care... Us asking, 'How we can best help,’” said Hubeishy.
Once a person has been checked out by the team, they can be reconnected to primary care doctors. Burlingame said it's refreshing to see students' passion toward a most vulnerable population.
Said Burlingame, "It's wonderful to know they care so much and put so much time into it... and share a similar philosophy we do here at Matt Urban."
"We feel it’s a population that has been ignored for a while, and we want to connect in that holistic biopsychosocial model of care as much as we can,” Hubeishy said.