{"id":70066,"date":"2026-03-16T13:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T20:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=70066"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:34:13","slug":"street-medicine-in-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/street-medicine-in-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Street Medicine Delivers Hope &amp; Healing on Albany\u2019s Streets"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Street Medicine Delivers Hope &amp; Healing on Albany\u2019s Streets<\/h1>\t\t<time>March 16, 2026<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_3cdeced00506ec25f28ebb8f7f0bae08\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>Each week, Samaritan InterCommunity Health Clinic\u2019s Street Medicine team travels through Albany to provide medical care to people who are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Armed with medical supplies, food and water, the team treats a variety of wounds and infections. They also help connect people to follow-up care at the clinic and assist with signing them up for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregon.gov\/oha\/hsd\/ohp\/pages\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oregon Health Plan<\/a> benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about meeting people where they are at, connecting with them and seeing their lives,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/patients-visitors\/find-a-doctor\/storniolo-cosimo-1548298904\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cosimo Storniolo, MD<\/a>, one of three rotating providers on the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Street Medicine Prevents ER Visits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Street medicine helps reduce emergency department visits by offering care in the field. It\u2019s one way to reach people who wouldn\u2019t otherwise visit Samaritan InterCommunity Health Clinic. On a recent outing the team treated a painful foot wound, prescribed antibiotics for skin sores and scheduled a clinic visit for someone needing an asthma inhaler refill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s critical to reach people who otherwise might not seek care, and who might be at risk of serious illness or infection,\u201d Dr. Storniolo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Street Medicine Requires Teamwork<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The team includes medical providers, staff from <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/health-services\/all-services\/addiction-medicine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samaritan Treatment &amp; Recovery Services<\/a>, a community health worker and a medical assistant. They often partner with <a href=\"https:\/\/chancerecovery.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2nd Chance Shelter<\/a> to expand their reach and build trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clinic Operations Manager Kari Storkson said many patients are hesitant to seek care due to past experiences. Though some individuals may be uncertain at first, the team\u2019s friendly, attentive approach helps break down barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re building relationships so they feel safe,\u201d Storkson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Street Medicine Connects Ongoing Care<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The clinic opened in 2024 and serves members of <a href=\"https:\/\/ihntogether.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">InterCommunity Health Network Coordinated Care Organization<\/a> in Albany and surrounding areas. In addition to medical care, patients can access behavioral health support, legal aid, peer support and even chronic disease classes. Staff are also able to help patients connect with resources for housing, food insecurity, mental health and substance use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Located next to <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/samaritan-albany-general-hospital\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samaritan Albany General Hospital<\/a>, the clinic connects patients to essential services like lab testing and X-rays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe want patients to feel welcomed while trying to get them the resources they need,\u201d Storkson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/samaritan-intercommunity-health-clinic-albany\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">samhealth.org\/InterCommunityClinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/StreetMedicine-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"Dr. Cosimo Storniolo and a nurse from the Samaritan InterCommunity Health Clinci&#039;s Street Medicine team preparing equipement to serve the community.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/StreetMedicine-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/StreetMedicine-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/StreetMedicine-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Samaritan InterCommunity Health Clinic\u2019s Street Medicine team offers medical care, compassion and connection on Albany\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":70067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[293],"news-types":[272],"services":[228],"specialty":[71],"class_list":["post-70066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-topics-wellness","news-types-news","services-addiction-medicine","specialty-addiction-medicine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70066"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71303,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70066\/revisions\/71303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70066"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=70066"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=70066"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=70066"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=70066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}