Caring for Madison’s Medically Underserved

As a physician working at Meriter, Dr. Cate Ranheim noticed a disturbing trend – an increasing number of working poor and homeless individuals requiring emergency medical care or hospitalization for minor illnesses that became acute.

Dr. Ranheim created the Helping Educate And Link The Homeless (HEALTH) outreach program to overcome the barriers to medical care that underserved patients encounter including limited transportation, lack of insurance and medications, and failure to access primary care.

The community HEALTH sessions are held once a week at one of four shelter locations, and provide basic health screenings, assistance with Medicare/Medicaid applications, education and coordination of care with local primary care providers.

Over 40 volunteers from a variety of health care backgrounds and one full-time nurse share their dedication to improving the health and well-being of homeless patients in Dane County.