The archetypal happening caregiver practitioner Janice Kochik wants you to cognize is that the patients she cares for are not homeless. They are houseless.
“A idiosyncratic tin person a home, person possessions, unrecorded with household members and pets,” she says, “but their location whitethorn not beryllium a unchangeable carnal operation similar a house. No substance what their residential status, they inactive merit bully healthcare.”
Working retired of Central Outreach Wellness Center, Kochik and a caregiver adjunct run a mobile wellness session that brings indispensable aesculapian attraction and investigating services to unhoused radical crossed Pittsburgh, astir often to outdoor camps connected the North Shore, North Side and South Side.
Central Outreach has a beardown absorption connected Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA community, which is disproportionately affected by houselessness.
Kochik had spent astir of her 30-year vocation successful a accepted infirmary mounting covering the modular scope of specialties from intensive attraction and trauma to exigency medicine and dialysis. In 2016, she joined Operation Safety Net, the internationally acclaimed “street medicine” programme pioneered successful the 1990s by Pittsburgh doc Dr. Jim Withers and headquartered astatine Pittsburgh Mercy.
With the recent rise successful Allegheny County’s houseless population, Kochik sees an contiguous request for much healthcare professionals trained to service outdoors.
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NEXTpittsburgh: What inspired you to prosecute thoroughfare medicine?
Janice Kochik: About 10 years agone I decided I wanted to beryllium a formation caregiver and returned to schoolhouse for my bachelor’s degree. As portion of that program, I went connected a aesculapian ngo to Honduras. I realized I wanted to bash much outreach similar this, reaching radical who had trouble obtaining mean healthcare. I didn’t cognize however to bash it connected a regular basis.
NEXTpittsburgh: And you learned astir Operation Safety Net aft that?
Kochik: My lad was successful aesculapian school, and Dr. Withers spoke to his class. My lad said, “Mom, you person to cheque this out!” Until then, I hadn’t known what I wanted to bash was being done successful an organized way. I was finishing up a master’s successful nursing astatine Carlow University and wrote a capstone programme insubstantial connected hypertension and the houseless population. After I graduated, Operation Safety Net hired maine arsenic their archetypal caregiver practitioner.
NEXTpittsburgh: What was your archetypal content of thoroughfare medicine erstwhile you saw it up close?
Kochik: I ne'er realized radical surviving extracurricular needed arsenic overmuch aesculapian attraction arsenic they did. They simply autumn done the cracks of our mean healthcare system. There weren’t immoderate protocols for maine to follow. Fortunately, we had tremendous outreach workers who helped the aesculapian squad and provided patients with clothing, water, lodging assistance, veterinarian attraction … each kinds of things. I learned from them however to navigate the streets.
NEXTpittsburgh: You worked with Operation Safety Net for 4 years.
Kochik: It taught maine truthful much. You enactment wholly outside. You dainty radical successful their environment. Because you get to cognize them successful their environment, you tin present a antithetic prime of care. Because you spell to them, you tin guarantee amended follow-up.
NEXTpittsburgh: How so?
Kochik: They’re not coming to an bureau and sitting for an hour. Or not showing up astatine each due to the fact that they don’t person the indispensable transportation. I say, “I’ll conscionable you connected this country successful your country astatine this time, and we’ll bash this.” They power the encounter. When our outreach van arrives, we are capable to spot everyone successful the campy if clip allows and they privation to beryllium seen. We person a wide scope of services … investigating for STIs and HIV and hepatitis C. We tin bring radical onto the van for treatment. I’m ever excited to spot radical who return.
NEXTpittsburgh: Because you’ve built the trust.
Kochik: Built relationships that built trust. When radical unrecorded outside, they don’t spot galore radical connected the inside. It’s hard for them to unfastened up and spot that the aesculapian idiosyncratic volition proceed to amusement up. With the van, I person the ability. I get to cognize them and tin travel up and spot them arsenic overmuch arsenic they privation to beryllium seen. We connection healthcare entree to those who don’t ever person it owed to their existent manner and surviving conditions. Being capable to dainty radical successful their ain situation allows for improved wellness attraction and reduces stigmas associated with these conditions.
NEXTpittsburgh: What is your main absorption now?
Kochik: I’m precise focused connected attraction and prevention for hepatitis C, HIV, STIs, arsenic good arsenic acquisition related to harm reduction. These conditions impact the full community, not conscionable those surviving outside.
NEXTpittsburgh: You’re besides an accomplished ocular artist. You’ve exhibited with the Pittsburgh Society of Artists, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and Cranberry Artists Network. Did that commencement arsenic a mode to decompress from your job?
Kochik: Art is decidedly a catharsis. I’ve been coating disconnected and connected each of my life. I had a mural coating concern for a while. About 8 years ago, I founded the Art & Inspiration radical astatine Shaler North Hills Library, and that sparked maine to overgarment more.
NEXTpittsburgh: The titles are intriguing: “Refugee,” “Reclaimed,” “Resist Oppose,” “Relax,” “Gratitude,” “Reclaim” …
Kochik: Each portion of my creation is usually linked to 1 person. Something that happened, a concern oregon a person. I usage recovered objects to bash the basal strokes, things similar sticks, rocks, pieces of metal. I besides constitute poetry. I enactment it connected the backmost of the painting.
NEXTpittsburgh: What tin we arsenic a society, arsenic residents of this peculiar community, bash to assistance lick the healthcare inequity thoroughfare medicine tries to address?
Kochik: Having lodging with moving water, energy and warmth is the archetypal step. It is truthful important. If you’re not successful a unchangeable environment, however tin you yourself beryllium stable? The information of having 4 walls is the foundation. Without these basal amenities, it’s hard for a idiosyncratic to absorption connected thing else.
On an idiosyncratic basis, radical are ever asking maine what we need. Shoes, socks, gloves, manus sanitizer, masks, bandages. We person assemblage students, religion members who privation to assistance cleanable a camp. People anonymously driblet things disconnected astatine my house.
Pittsburgh has a batch of large healthcare resources, a batch of fantastic clinics serving lower-income patients and patients who are homebound. AHN Center for Inclusion Health provides healthcare for those not successful unchangeable surviving conditions. I deliberation we bash request much thoroughfare outreach workers and aesculapian teams. It’s bully for the wide assemblage successful truthful galore ways.
I emotion my job. I volition ever beryllium idiosyncratic who’s moving with a susceptible population. For me, it’s been a blessing.
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