http://carondelet.org RSS feeds for Carondelet Health Network 60 http://carondelet.org/home/about-carondelet/newsroom/news-articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/8/community-organizations-mobilize-to-provide-medical-care-to-homeless.aspx#Comments 0 http://carondelet.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=619&ModuleID=1445&ArticleID=8 http://carondelet.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=8&PortalID=0&TabID=619 http://carondelet.org/home/about-carondelet/newsroom/news-articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/8/community-organizations-mobilize-to-provide-medical-care-to-homeless.aspx Medical care and outreach on wheels…the Van of Hope hits the streets of Tucson to reach some of the area’s most vulnerable citizens. Van of Hope, a flagship effort by a coalition of partners called the Southern Arizona Health Village for the Homeless, launches this week and will serve the healthcare needs of the growing homeless population. In turn, this will also reduce the number of emergency visits and inpatient admissions at area hospitals for preventable conditions that become acute due to lack of primary care. According to the most recent (January 2010) numbers provided by Tucson Planning Council for the Homeless, nearly 6,000 people in Southern Arizona are homeless; more than 2,400 or 40 percent are children, either on their own or in families. “The current state of healthcare for people who are homeless in Tucson is fragmented and homeless patients feel alienated from care,” said Doug Spegman, M.D., Chief Quality/ Medical Innovations Officer for El Rio Community Health Center. “If a person who is homeless receives medical care, it is likely that he or she will not receive follow-up care. Our hope is that an integrated approach by the Southern Arizona Health Village for the Homeless will help to address fragmentation, and that the collaborative partners’ “on the ground” experience with people who are homeless will result in an effective means of providing medical services to this especially vulnerable population.” The Van of Hope is a modified 38-foot recreational vehicle equipped to provide mobile medical services. It will visit shelters, churches and other places where homeless individuals often gather. On board, a nurse practitioner, community health outreach worker and medical assistant can provide health assessments, medical treatment, case management and specialty care. This is a high-tech van, equipped with telemedicine exam cameras for tele-dermatology, tele-wound care and other consultations. “From the program’s inception our partners, community members and community subject matter experts have been engaged in developing the program and moving it forward,” said Kathy Hall, Carondelet Health Network’s Manager of Southern Arizona Health Village for the Homeless. “An advisory council was established to address the continuum of care available to this population, and work groups were created to identify opportunities in specific focus areas such as accessibility, best practices, behavioral health integration and case management.” The Southern Arizona Health Village for the Homeless coalition of partners: Carondelet Health Network (www.carondelet.org) Dependable Health Services (www.dependablehealth.com) El Rio Community Health Center (www.elrio.org) Interfaith Coalition for the Homeless (www.ichtucson.org) Pima Community Access program (www.pcap.cc) Pima County Health Department (www.pimahealth.org) Primavera Foundation (www.primavera.org) Salvation Army (www.thesalvationarmytucson.org) St. Elizabeth’s Health Center (www.ccs-soaz.org) Veterans Administration (www.tucson.va.gov) The program and Van of Hope was made possible by a generous gift of $2 million over the next five years from an anonymous donor to the Carondelet Foundation. Carondelet Health Network and Carondelet Foundation worked with other local organizations that have a history of serving the homeless to secure the gift. The gift will enable community organizations to better serve people who are at risk or homeless by expanding the reach of health care provided to new locations. For more information about the Southern Arizona Village Health Village, please visit www.carondelet.org. Press Release Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:19:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:8 http://carondelet.org/home/about-carondelet/newsroom/news-articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/9/carondelet-health-network-celebrates-founding-sisters-with-habitat-house-build.aspx#Comments 0 http://carondelet.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=619&ModuleID=1445&ArticleID=9 http://carondelet.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=9&PortalID=0&TabID=619 http://carondelet.org/home/about-carondelet/newsroom/news-articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/9/carondelet-health-network-celebrates-founding-sisters-with-habitat-house-build.aspx Carondelet Health Network will take on an entire Habitat For Humanity home project to provide a new home for one of its associates, Gina Beltran and her family. It is all part of a year-long celebration of the 140th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to Tucson.  Carondelet/Habitat for Humanity Tucson Project Groundbreaking: Saturday, Sept. 11, 6 a.m. – Noon Location: Corazon del Pueblo near I-10 and S. Craycroft Road  (contact Carondelet for driving directions) Media Welcome To Attend In 1870, seven Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, located outside of St. Louis, Missouri, were asked to relocate to the Old Pueblo to teach school. They traveled an arduous path by train from St. Louis to San Francisco, by boat from San Francisco to San Diego, and by covered wagon from San Diego to Tucson. They were met with celebratory gunfire and fireworks to their new home. 10 years later, at the Bishop‟s request, they agreed to open and operate St. Mary‟s Hospital. To acknowledge that legacy, Carondelet Health Network is embarking on its own journey to build a home for one of its own. Working with Habitat for Humanity Tucson, Carondelet associates will assist in the building of a house for Beltran, an office coordinator in the Diabetes Center. Beltran has four kids: Jessica, 23, and Pedro, 19, who have already left the nest and Cassandra, 17, and Angela, 14, who will live with her in their new Habitat home. “My kids are everything to me,” she said. “I always wanted to do this -- buy a home -- but I was scared.” The new home’s groundbreaking is this weekend, Sept. 11, as a part of Habitat’s annual “Building Freedom Day.” Teams of volunteers of Carondelet associates will work with Habitat to build the house. The finished home will be dedicated and keys handed to its new owner on May 26, 2011 – the day the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet first arrived in Tucson in 1870. Every year on the anniversary of the tragic 9/11 attacks, Habitat for Humanity Tucson begins construction on several homes, building them from the ground up, to not only memorialize the victims, but to celebrate hope, community and the American dream. “This project is a wonderful and meaningful way to celebrate the Sisters of St. Joseph‟s charism of serving „the dear neighbor,‟” said Jude Magers, Carondelet Senior Vice President, Mission Integration. “We are excited to involve all associates at all levels and departments in this effort that will make a positive impact on our community and celebrate our heritage.” The “dear neighbor” charism traces back to the founding of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1650, Father Jean Pierre Medaille told six women, the original Sisters of St. Joseph congregation, to divide the city where they were established in France. They were to go out into the various districts to discern the needs and serve the people who lived there. Father Medaille called these residents “the dear neighbor.” He urged the Sisters to serve their neighbors with the same care and loving concern that St. Joseph had shown in serving Jesus and Mary. This is the second time Carondelet Health Network has teamed with Habitat: it was a proud partner in the Faith Build project that is now the home of the Quiroga Family, providing financial support for the project along with six local churches and other donors and faith-based organizations in Southern Arizona. The home was begun on Sept. 11, 2009, and the family received the keys on June 4, 2010. More information about Habitat for Humanity Tucson is at www.habitattucson.org. To learn more about the Trek of the Seven Sisters, click here. Press Release Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:9