To the casual observer, the white box truck parked along Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark on a recent morning might have looked more like a Mister Softee ice cream van than a doctor’s office on wheels. But to Lavanya Kamineni, an advanced nurse practitioner at Rutgers Health, the vehicle represents something else entirely: dignity in health care.
“Even though our clinic is literally on the street, we still want to maintain as much privacy as possible, so our patients can have a secure space to talk,” said Kamineni, the lead nurse aboard the city of Newark’s Homeless Outreach Medical Unit. “That’s why our mobile unit is here.”
Since September, Kamineni has been among a team of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) practitioners who, in partnership with the city, are bringing health care to those experiencing homelessness where they live. Four times a week, Kamineni is joined by a clinical social worker and a street outreach worker to canvas Newark’s Arts and Education district. Their goal: To build trust and improve health outcomes in a population that is short on both. To read the full story.