Health Care Services for the Homeless

The evolution of nurse managed clinics and the development of a major homelessness problem are coincidental phenomena in the contemporary United States. Factors as diverse as public finding constraints, shortages of physicians in the nation's inner cities and rural areas, and the increasing trend toward physician specialization are creating an interaction between these phenomena. This research examines the growing role of nurse managed clinics in the provision of health care services to homeless people.

Why Nurse Managed Clinics Are Used to Deliver Health Care Services to the Homeless

As costs associated with the delivery of health care services soared in the 1980s and continue to increase in the 1990s, third party funders, health care providers, and users of health care services sought and continue to develop and implement procedures and programs that will either stabilize costs or reduce the rate of increase. Health care services funded by government received special scrutiny. Homeless people are almost entirely dependent upon costfree or slidingscale fee health care services delivery. Thus, cost containment measures that affect the delivery of governmentally funded health care services tend to have a devastating impact on the accessibility of health care services to the homeless.

Governmentally funded health care providers are being overwhelmed by the numbers of indigent people, incl

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fessionals, (6) health educators, (7) nutritionists, (8) social workers, and (9) other tertiary care specialists as required. The nurse managed clinic serves as a focal point for a primary health care team (Reifsteck and D'Angelo, 1990, pp. 1221). As a focal point, the nurse managed clinic is the hub through which all health care services for the homeless will be arranged. When viewed in the team context, the role of the nurse practitioner appears as less of a departure from accepted practice, and more as an expected and a desirable evolution in the delivery of effective health care services. Opposition to nurse practitioners will still be present; however, it is more difficult to justify, when the nurse practitioner is viewed as a necessary member of an essential primary health care team. Strong support also exists for the nurse practitioner concept. Support is strong within the public health community, where the active participation of nurse practitioners is viewed as a means of promoting improved levels of general health in the country (Richmond and Wise, 1986, pp. 219223). Cited as evidence of the contention that the use of nurse practitioners leads to improvements in the level of health care, as an example, are inf
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Fanshel Lutz, Reifsteck D'Angelo, Ozzie Harriet, Development Bush, Health Center, Services Homeless, health care, Budget Office, Richmond Wise, Reach Homeless, care services, health care services, nurse managed, United Factors, nurse managed clinics, managed clinics, care services homeless, services homeless, homeless persons, managed clinic, nurse managed clinic, delivery health, delivery health care, role nurse, including homeless,
Approximate Word count = 2258
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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