Loyola Street Medicine

Dr. Nguyen shares the Loyola program's wrap-around care model that incorporates street outreach, emergency services, in-patient care, and medical respite. She also details the history taking acronym of HOUSED BEDS for rough sleepers, and tells some remarkable patient stories.

In this episode of the Loyola Street Medicine Podcast, we are joined by Morgan McLuckie, CEO of the Orange Tent Project, a community initiative dedicated to supporting individuals experiencing homelessness through outreach and access to essential resources. Morgan shares the inspiration behind the organization, discusses her experience working with unhoused populations, and reflects on the importance of meeting people where they are with compassion and dignity. We also explore the challenges faced by individuals living without stable housing, the role of community-led outreach in addressing these challenges, and how healthcare providers and trainees can better engage with and support vulnerable populations.

Join us as we take a deep dive into the intersection of gun violence, homelessness, and emergency care. Gun violence disproportionately impacts people experiencing homelessness and those from marginalized communities, and our guests bring frontline clinical experience, public health expertise, and advocacy leadership to this conversation.

Kyle Takach is a fourth-year medical student at the Stritch School of Medicine, where he serves as Student Course Director of the Disability Healthcare Elective and President of Students Against Gun Violence Prevention. He is joined by two distinguished guests with extensive experience in gun violence prevention advocacy.

Dr. Kristen Donaldson is an emergency medicine physician, Associate Professor at Loyola University Chicago, and President-Elect of the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians. With formal training in public health and years of experience caring for patients affected by violence, Dr. Donaldson is a public health and violence prevention advocate both for her patients and for emergency room staff, who is actively engaged in advocacy efforts at the state and national levels.

Dr. Halleh Akbarnia is an emergency medicine physician with over two decades of experience at Level I Trauma Centers and a survivor of gun violence herself. She chairs the Community Health and Prevention committee, overseeing the Gun Violence Prevention Subcommittee with Doctors for America. Dr. Akbarnia is involved with organizations like Newtown Action Alliance, Moms Demand Action, and recently This is Our Lane, and is a member of the Illinois Alliance for Prevention of Gun Violence. Dr. Akbarnia is an active member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and serves as a Board Member for the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians.

Together, our guests discuss how gun violence and homelessness are deeply intertwined, and how emergency departments and street medicine teams encounter these realities.

For more information about Loyola's gun violence advocacy efforts, please visit: https://www.luc.edu/parkinson/researchandpractice/loyolastandsagainstgunviolence/

In this episode, we sit down with Brett Feldman, PA-C, Director and Co-Founder of the Street Medicine program at USC and Vice Chair of the International Street Medicine Institute. Also joining us is Dr. Theresa Nguyen, an Emergency Medicine physician and Medical Co-Director of Loyola Street Medicine, and Catherine Kalble, a fourth-year Stritch medical student who recently served on the Loyola Street Medicine inpatient consult service. Together, we discuss and break down HOUSED BEDS, an evidence-based history-taking framework created by Dr. Feldman and his team for clinicians working with patients experiencing homelessness. Our conversation focuses on how this tool helps providers understand a patient’s lived environment, risks, goals, and barriers in ways traditional medical interviews often miss. We also discuss how using HOUSED BEDS can turn clinical encounters into meaningful, trust-building conversations across shelters, encampments, and hospitals, offering practical and compassionate strategies for anyone caring for unsheltered patients.

Click here to explore the HOUSED BEDS framework and see how it can strengthen your patient interactions.

This special anniversary episode of the Loyola Street Medicine Podcast celebrates five years of service, advocacy, and community. We’re honored to be joined by a distinguished panel of guests who have each played a vital role in shaping the program’s growth and mission.

Dr. Veronica Gonzalez, a third-year emergency medicine resident at Cook County Hospital and Stritch School of Medicine alumna, was a co-founder of the Loyola Stritch Homelessness Outreach Coalition (SHOC). She is joined by fellow Stritch alumna Dr. Sofia Ruiz-Castaneda, a third-year internal medicine resident at the University of Texas at Austin and another founding member of SHOC. We also welcome Owen Lewer, a recent Stritch graduate and incoming family medicine resident at Providence Hood River in Oregon. Rounding out the conversation are Dr. Theresa Nguyen, an attending emergency medicine physician at Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC) and medical co-director of Loyola Street Medicine, and Dr. Kevin Boblick, an attending primary care physician at LUMC who serves alongside Dr. Nguyen as medical co-director.

Our guests reflect on the origins of Loyola Street Medicine, share stories from their experiences, and discuss the program’s impact on the community over the past five years. They also look ahead, offering insights into the future of street medicine and how the next generation of physicians can continue this mission of compassionate, dignified care.

In this episode of the Loyola Street Medicine Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Samuel Jackson, a street psychiatrist dedicated to serving some of Chicago’s most vulnerable populations. Dr. Jackson completed his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan, medical school training at Central Michigan University, psychiatry residency at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and Public Psychiatry Fellowship at Columbia University. He has a particular interest in street psychiatry, advocacy, and improving systems of care. He has published several peer-reviewed papers, a book chapter, and multiple op-eds in the last year on these topics. He is currently the Clinical Director of Psychiatry at Erie Family Health (a large Chicago-based federally qualified health center) and a part-time street psychiatrist for The Night Ministry and Rush's The Center to Transform Health and Housing. 

Join us as we explore the unique challenges and strategies involved in street medicine and managing behavioral health crises. Dr. Jackson shares insights on his experiences and the importance of meeting people where they are—both physically and emotionally. He discusses the impact of mobile crisis teams, shares resources for early career involvement in street medicine, and touches on some of the most uplifting and discouraging aspects of his work. 

Thank you so much for listening, and we hope you enjoy the episode!

This month on the Loyola Street Medicine Podcast, join Dr. Withers, an Internal Medicine physician and founder of the Street Medicine Institute, along with Stritch medical student Anna Akkara, for a conversation about winter-related emergencies among the unhoused population and general advocacy for the unhoused.

Dr. Withers has been a pioneer in street medicine, spearheading the global street medicine movement. His groundbreaking work began with Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net, the street medicine program he founded and continues to work with in Pittsburgh, PA. For over 30 years, he has dedicated himself to treating and advocating for the unhoused, embodying the motto, “Go to the people.”

In this episode, Dr. Withers discusses the types of cold- and winter-related emergencies that are common among the unhoused and explains why this population is at higher risk for such illnesses and emergencies. He emphasizes the importance of building trust with the individuals you serve and highlights the need for forming meaningful connections over time—particularly when collaborating on realistic health plans with patients. Dr. Withers underscores that unhoused individuals often know their circumstances better than anyone else, and truly listening to them can make a significant difference in the success of their care.

Drawing from his extensive experience as a street medicine physician, Dr. Withers shares compelling stories and practical advice for medical students, residents, and anyone interested in street medicine. He offers insights on advocacy, documenting injustice, and providing compassionate care to our brothers and sisters on the streets.

We hope you enjoy this inspiring episode!

This month on the Loyola Street Medicine Podcast, join Dr. Heiferman, Emergency Medicine physician at Loyola University Medical Center and Stritch medical student, Anna Akkara, in discussing heat-related illnesses among the unhoused population. Dr. Heiferman has long been active in street medicine, volunteering with the Community Health Clinic while in college at Northwestern. From there, he went on to Rush Medical College where he continued to volunteer with Chicago's underserved population through health fairs and other mediums. At Loyola, Dr. Heiferman became heavily involved with The Night Ministry, Housing Forward, and Loyola Street Medicine. Now, he serves as a Forest Park CTA Blue Line Clinic preceptor, working with medical students to provide the best care possible for those most vulnerable in our society.

In today's episode, Dr. Heiferman details the types of heat-related illnesses, why unhoused patients are at higher risk for this kind of illness, how heat-related illnesses are diagnosed and treated, and the confounding factors that need to be considered when diagnosing and treating heat-related illnesses. Lastly, he gives our listeners some valuable advice on utilizing available resources and providing valuable education to patients which can help them avoid emergency room admission or re-admission.

Hope you enjoy the episode!

This month on the Loyola Street Medicine Podcast, join Dr. Richard Bryce, Program Director for the Henry Ford Family Medicine Residency Program and Chief Medical Officer at the Community Health and Social Services (CHASS) Center in Detroit, and Stritch medical students, Thomas Quigley and Grant Gochman, in discussing chronic medical conditions. Dr. Bryce has long been active in street medicine and serves as the Medical Director for both Street Medicine Detroit and Detroit Street Care, and is truly dedicated to providing the best care possible for those most vulnerable in our society. Dr. Bryce details how he became involved in street medicine, treating commonly encountered physical and mental health challenges, reconciling medications and maintaining continuity of care, and meeting patients where they are — with the compassion and grace they deserve.

Follow this link to view our student-made presentation on Chronic Medical Conditions.

This month on the Loyola Street Medicine Podcast, join Van Asher, the Director of Policy and Advocacy for Chicago Street Medicine, and Stritch medical students, Johanna Wefes-Potter and Jennifer Krupa, discuss harm reduction. Van has been a strong advocate for and changed the landscape of harm reduction since the early nineties. Van details his introduction to the field, current policies, the power of language, and the future of harm reduction in the United States.

Follow this link to view Van’s animated harm reduction videos.

Follow this link to view supplemental harm reduction information.

Photo credit: https://egov.ct.gov/norasaves/