15th Annual International Street Medicine Symposium-Day 1

The Street Medicine Institute is excited to announce the 15th Annual International Street Medicine Symposium (ISMS 15) to be held Monday through Wednesday, October 21-23, 2019 at The August Wilson African American Cultural Center at 980 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.  A special pre-symposium Street Medicine 101 workshop will be offered on October 20, 2019.  Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net and the Allegheny Health Network’s Center for Inclusion Health are co-hosting this anniversary celebration of the global street medicine community as it returns to Pittsburgh, the site of the first ISMS in 2005 and the birthplace of the Street Medicine Institute.

The International Street Medicine Symposium (ISMS) is the world’s premier educational event dedicated to the health care of rough-sleeper (unsheltered) homeless populations.  As always, the ISMS will offer an impressive slate of homeless health care experts from around the globe presenting clinical topics, innovations, research outcomes, and best practices relevant to street medicine through the popular format mix of large-group lectures, small-group workshops, and poster presentations. Clinicians and non-clinicians are invited to participate; we encourage and celebrate the diversity of professional roles and disciplines represented among participants. We intend to offer continuing medical education credits for eligible clinicians.

With a 27-year history of “going to the people”, Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net is widely recognized as an international leader in the practice of street medicine. Under the leadership of its beloved founder and medical director, Dr. Jim Withers, the organization has positively impacted the health, housing, and human dignity of thousands of people experiencing homelessness in the Pittsburgh region throughout its history. Operation Safety Net has become a model in whose image numerous other street medicine programs around the world have been created with Dr. Withers’ expert guidance.

Although a much younger organization, the Allegheny Health Network Center for Inclusion Health has introduced a number of innovative care models to complement and enhance street medicine activities in Pittsburgh, including a unique street addiction/MAT team and a medical respite program. Firmly rooted in principles of harm reduction, social justice, and high-value care, the Center for Inclusion Health seeks to maximize care access and health equity for a variety of vulnerable populations throughout the region – including rough sleepers.  Its position within a vertically integrated academic health system allows the mission to extend beyond clinical care, with special emphasis on education and training, quality improvement, and system-level changes to promote inclusion.

Registration is now open!  Please click HERE to register. The Street Medicine Institute is excited to offer a 5% discount to members. Membership is currently free, and participants are highly encouraged to take advantage of this discount while it is still available. Click HERE to become a member of the Street Medicine Institute.