The estimated 14,000 people experiencing homelessness in the city need care more than ever as COVID-19 spreads.
“It’s important to give people access and the option to intervene if they’re having a cough or before they get so sick that they require hospitalization,” Shajahan said. “Getting out there on the street is like bringing medicine to them because they’re not able to access it on their own.”
Shajahan launched the COVID-19 screening program in late March, though she’s run the clinic at the Pope Francis Center for several years. Between her shifts at Beaumont East Area Family Practice working inpatient several days a week, teaching and hosting a podcast, she holds the medical clinic three days a week for about three hours each day.
On one recent morning, Shajahan gave antibiotics to several patients. A man who’d had toes on both feet amputated needed his dry and cracking nubs treated to prevent infections. Shajahan spent about 20 minutes filing the calluses and dry skin, disinfecting his feet with an iodine wash and applying an antifungal cream and moisturizer.
Throughout this morning, residents asked the doctor how the virus is contracted, how to guard against infection, how to wash their hands properly and how to identify symptoms. She said that the city’s homeless residents are “100% taking the virus seriously” and that having access to a medical professional goes a long way to putting their minds at ease while helping to prevent an outbreak among the community.
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