A big white van was parked in New Haven’s Fair Haven neighborhood on a sweltering summer day. Standing next to it were a group of nurses and a case manager.
The group, from the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, a nearby community clinic, was waiting for unhoused patients to come to them.
“I like to say we are like a rural community medicine practice where we get to know everybody, individually by name,” said Phil Costello, a nurse and clinical director of homeless care at Cornell Scott-Hill.
Across Connecticut, the number of people experiencing homelessness is increasing, and with it, so is the rise in demand for health care. To address that growing need, Costello and his team are working to meet and treat patients where they are.
The team’s core mission is to provide medical care. They do that by diagnosing, prescribing, and referring unhoused patients to specialists. Costello regularly changes wound dressings for people.