ETSU Health street medicine team expands to Kingsport

KINGSPORT — ETSU Health Family Medicine’s street medicine program expanded its reach with its first Kingsport clinic on Thursday.The program, which started in Johnson City earlier this year, cares for people experiencing homelessness while simultaneously training resident doctors through hands-on learning in their communities. It is funded by a $2.4 million Health Resources and Services Administration grant and aims to train 140 residents within five years.  “We are trying to find ways to give residents educational opportunities to learn how that type of care might be different compared to what we would normally do in our clinic or hospital,” said Dr. Heather Newman, an ETSU Health Family Medicine physician and head of the Kingsport Street Medicine operation. The Kingsport team has partnered with Shades of Grace United Methodist Church to provide clinics about once a month. The church has hosted other clinics and offers a daily meal and other services to high-need community members, Newman said. “Our goal is to be able to be where people might already be going,” she added. The street team often takes care of acute and chronic medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Newman said they anticipate administering lots of skin, wound and foot care, and that ETSU Health Infectious Diseases physician Dr. Matthew Krolikowski has volunteered his time and expertise to help with those issues. “I’m excited that he’s going to be working with our team to help our residents learn more about how to do that type of care when you don’t have the ability to refer to a wound care specialist, or you’re not sure someone’s going to be able to go and keep an appointment,” Newman said. “I think that’s one of the things that will be really different and a challenge, is some of those things that we take for granted in our clinics or in our healthcare system.”Project Lead and ETSU Health Family Medicine physician Dr. Morgan Buda thinks residents will get better at resource navigation in a different environment. And she’s encouraged by the program’s reception so far among local physicians. “The resident doctors are very interested in this rotation at Kingsport,” she said. “That’s very exciting that they are already trusting the work that their faculty and Dr. Newman are doing, and are wanting to dedicate a limited amount of time that they get in residency for something like this.” The Thursday event provided care for 10 guests, according to a Shades of Grace Facebook post. The team will continue to go out about once a week on Thursdays, Newman added, and is also partnering with mobile clinics and other aid organizations. Buda said the program plans to move into Bristol sometime in 2027. It’s currently in the planning stages for the expansion.”For building a program like this, I think it’s all about showing up and being there when we say we’re going to be there,” Buda said. “I’m very proud that we’ve been able to show up rain or shine, no matter the weather… I think people really are glad to see that we stand by that.”