UW/Harborview Mobile Health Outreach Brings Care to the Community
For many individuals facing housing instability or other systemic barriers, accessing a clinic or hospital is simply not an option. That’s where Harborview’s Mobile Health Outreach program steps in, delivering essential services to residents of two Seattle Tiny House Villages in partnership with the Low-Income Housing Institute.
According to the recently released annual report, MHO provided care to 63 unique patients over 142 visits in 2024. Services ranged from urgent care and wound treatment to health education and resource referrals. More than half of the patients had multiple medical issues addressed per visit, and a similar number returned for follow-up care. Several Emergency Medicine physicians serve as volunteer preceptors, including Drs. Alexander Garret, Herbie Duber, and Lauren Whiteside.
“I think meeting people where they're at goes so far to break down barriers to care,” said Dr. Alexander Garrett, an MHO volunteer and Acting Assistant Professor within the Department of Emergency Medicine. “Many of our patients have been let down or even victimized by various social systems and structures, including the healthcare system,” said Garrett.
Garrett began volunteering with MHO shortly after starting at the University of Washington as a medical education fellow. With experience leading a student-run free clinic in medical school, Garrett understood the importance of continuing this type of work.
“I believe that street medicine and other outreach initiatives are vital to rebuilding trust in marginalized communities, and free clinic groups provide a great way to channel that boundless student energy into patient-centered care. Therefore, once I was made aware of the MHO program I jumped at the opportunity to precept,” Garrett said.
Behind every visit stood a dedicated volunteer force: 53 clinician preceptors and over 180 students from UW’s medicine, nursing, public health, social work, pharmacy, and allied-health programs, who together contributed 645 service hours. Additionally, MHO facilitated referrals to primary care, specialty services, and social support, laying the groundwork for continued, patient-centered care.
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, the HMC MHO program plans to grow its interprofessional preceptor pool, introduce point-of-care testing, and expand services to a third outreach site in partnership with Catholic Community Services, all while conducting a comprehensive program evaluation to enhance service delivery and meet evolving community needs.
“Outreach is a way to show that we are trying to be better and to co-construct healthy relationships with healthcare,” said Garrett.
