“State officials said a former Boston Medical Center hospital building would reopen as a temporary location to care for the homeless who have tested positive or are awaiting test results. The facility will be run by a consortium of providers, including Boston Medical Center, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, shelters including the Pine Street Inn, and the City of Boston’s COVID-19 response team.”
Dr. Jim O'Connell, founder of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, said he's petrified of what could lie ahead for the homeless population, which numbers roughly 2,300 people at any one time, according to the most recent data available from the city's census in January 2019. Watch more on NBC 10, Boston.
“Rather than send them to the shelter or keep them in the emergency room, we can take care of them there until their test results are back,” O’Connell said. Watch coverage on CBS News, Boston.
Those who work with Boston's homeless population fear that the coronavirus could spread like wildfire in shelters. That's why Boston Healthcare for the Homeless has put up medical tents behind the Southampton Street Shelter. Watch WCVB's coverage here.
Boston’s Healthcare for the Homeless Program set up two tents to screen people entering shelters who may have been exposed to the virus or are showing symptoms. Watch WHDH's coverage here
Boston Healthcare For The Homeless are working to prevent the COVID-19 virus from spreading among some of the city's most vulnerable. WBZ NewsRadio's Suzanne Sausville reports. Listen to coverage on WBZ here.
“We will have more needs than we can meet,” said Dr. Jessie Gaeta, a physician at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. “So the city, the state and shelters are working really hard to identify spaces.”
Dr. Jessie Gaeta, chief medical officer for the Boston Health Care for the Homeless program emphasized that there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Boston’s homeless population and only small number of individuals have shown symptoms of the infection.
