In Boston on Friday, there were 29 people who were homeless who had tested positive for the virus, said Vicki Ritterband of Boston Health Care For The Homeless Program. That number jumped to 200 on Monday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Tuesday, highlighting how quickly the virus can spread in a community.
That number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 is up from 29 on Friday, according to Vicki Ritterband of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which offers health services for people experiencing homelessness.
Vicki Ritterband; Vital Signs & Mass Medical Society
April 2020
"Jim O’Connell, MD, is worried. The president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program knows COVID-19 will soon hit the homeless population, and it will hit hard."
"This is our moonshot. We've got to do the best we can to flatten what is right now a very steep upward curve among homeless people in Boston. We can't do it alone. I do think we need our intensivists and hospitalists working in the hospital. People that do community medicine, if you're not busy right now, we need you." Listen on WBUR here!
“Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program is one of the organizations receiving major grants from the fund. Vicki Ritterband, media coordinator for BHCHP, said in an email that the funds received will go to new coronavirus-related services and medical sites.”
“Guests have been screened by medical personnel and staff at the door of the shelter for the last several weeks, and those who are displaying symptoms are not allowed to enter. They are instead directed to Barbara McInnis House in Boston, which helps homeless people who are too sick for life in shelters, but not sick enough for an acute care hospital bed.”
“He added that Boston Healthcare for the Homeless is also providing logistical and technical support to manage the clientele at the emergency shelter.”
“Mary Takach of Cape Elizabeth works on a medical team supporting the homeless in Boston. Using tents set up in the parking lot, Boston Health Care for the Homeless provides medical care round the clock.”
