OHSU Street Nursing Team growing to better serve Southern Oregon’s unhoused

Nursing faculty, students build trust with local residents, offer health services

By Franny White September 06, 2022 ASHLAND, Oregon

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Adriana Sanchez, an undergraduate nursing student at the OHSU School of Nursing’s Ashland campus, provides a foot bath for a client on May 17, 2022. Since 2015, OHSU School of Nursing faculty and students have offered foot soak clinics, which offer a judgment-free space for local residents experiencing homelessness to address their foot issues, which are more common among the unhoused. (OHSU/Adam Sullivan)

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Eric McCann, an undergraduate nursing student at the OHSU School of Nursing's Ashland campus, sorts through supplies in preparation for his health care activities at Medford Library on Aug. 31, 2022. (OHSU/Tiffany Allen)

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OHSU Street Nursing Team members and volunteers organize socks, lotions and other supplies at the Medford Library on Aug. 31, 2022. They will hand out these items while visiting with unhoused Jackson County residents as part of the team's efforts to improve the health and well-being of people who are experiencing homelessness. (OHSU/Tiffany Allen)

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The street nursing program sets out to help people at Hawthorne Park in Medford, Oregon, on Aug. 31, 2022. Since January 2022, small groups of OHSU School of Nursing faculty and students have hit the streets in Medford and Ashland to visit with people who are experiencing homelessness and offer basic health services. By the end of 2023, the OHSU Street Nursing Team plans to expand their efforts into neighboring Klamath County, Oregon. (OHSU/Tiffany Allen)

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Since January 2022, small groups of OHSU School of Nursing faculty and students have hit the streets in Medford and Ashland to visit with people who are experiencing homelessness and offer basic health services. By the end of 2023, the OHSU Street Nursing Team plans to expand their efforts into neighboring Klamath County, Oregon. (OHSU/Tiffany Allen)

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Rachel Richmond, M.S.N., R.N., assistant professor of clinical nursing at the OHSU School of Nursings Ashland campus & OHSU Street Nursing Team project manager. Aug. 31, 2022. (OHSU/Tiffany Allen)

Heather Voss (2018)

Heather Voss, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor at the OHSU School of Nursing’s Ashland campus. (OHSU)

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Eric McCann, an undergraduate nursing student at the OHSU School of Nursing’s Ashland campus, prepares a foot bath for a client on Aug. 31, 2022, at the Medford Library in Medford, Oregon. o Since 2015, OHSU School of Nursing faculty and students have offered foot soak clinics, which offer a judgment-free space for local residents experiencing homelessness to address the foot issues that are more common among the unhoused and also engage in face-to-face conversations with others. (OHSU/Tiffany Allen)