UH Med Now

University of Hawai’i medical student volunteers of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, assisted by MD faculty, have served the medical treatment and wellness needs of Hawai’i’s homeless populations since 2005, through the Hawai‘i Homeless Outreach and Medical Education (H.O.M.E.) Project. Medical services provided at mobile health clinics three times a week in communities throughout O’ahu include care for acute and chronic health problems, preventive services, health counseling, vaccines, and free medications for those without insurance.

In addition to the clinics, the H.O.M.E. Project also sponsors Keiki Halloween carnivals, Keiki Christmas parties, Mother’s Day gifts, a homeless teen mentoring program, and an annual school supplies drive in support of the health and well-being of this growing community. Learn more at hawaiihomeproject.org

MORE ABOUT THE Hawaiʻi H.O.M.E. Project
Founded in 2005 by Jill Omori, MD, a JABSOM alumna and Associate Director of the Office of Medicine Education, the project offers medical services including care for acute and chronic health problems, preventive services, health counseling, vaccines, and free medications for those without insurance. By 2012, the medical student and faculty operated clinics had tallied some 7,600 encounters with patients See: Hawaiʻi Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 2012.

In addition to the clinics, H.O.M.E. also sponsors Keiki Halloween carnivals, Keiki Christmas parties, Mother’s Day gift drives, a teen mentoring program, and an annual school supply drive in support of the health and well-being of this growing community.

The Medical Education Element
All medical students in their first year at JABSOM must participate in a yearlong community health setting, and H.O.M.E. is one of 10 options available to them.

Second-year medical students have the opportunity to work as managers of the H.O.M.E. Project or its spin-off program formed in 2011, the Hawai’i Youth Program for Excellence (H.Y.P.E.). H.Y.P.E. is aimed at helping teenage homeless get physical exercise and feel better about themselves.

Third-year medical students at JABSOM perform a Family Medicine and Community Health Clerkship with the homeless outreach project, where–for every week for nearly two months (seven weeks)–they must work at two to three clinics. For 10 fourth-year medical students, an elective also is available which requires them to provide health care at no fewer than 25 clinics in their final year of medical school. Every year since its inception, the fourth-year elective has been filled to capacity; a sign of how successful the medical school’s curriculum promoting care for the under-served is.