Nurse practitioner, Jane, was travelling home one day when she saw a man sleeping rough in his car in Launceston. Jane realised there was an immediate need for a health clinic that could provide free services to the homeless.
Jane worked alongside a registered nurse and lecturer, Michele, and collaborated with City Mission, a charity organisation, to set up Mission Health Clinic.
Mission Health runs on a weekly basis, providing bulk billed health care for patients in Launceston experiencing homelessness.
The service is open from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm on Thursdays and provides free health care for people who may otherwise go without.
Mission Health is making a difference to the lives of vulnerable people. Services include chronic health management, general health assessments, immunisations and sexual health testing.
Jane said that Medicare has been an integral puzzle piece in the establishment and continued running of Mission Health.
Without Medicare, the clinic would either be non-existent, or it would have been far more difficult to achieve what we have. Without Medicare, much of Mission Health’s work would mean this group would pay private costs for prescription medication, there would be problems referring to local hospitals, obtaining Medicare funding toward radiology and pathology investigations, and so much more.
As one of the clinicians of Mission Health, Medicare means that I can receive a fee for service in the work to support homeless people of Launceston. I have elected to return a percentage of this fee to the clinic to buy essential consumables such as wound care products.
This cohort of people have difficulty managing appointments, so the drop-in service is ideal for them.
Mission Health routinely sees patients in need of immediate health care. Recently, the service helped a young woman with a hormonal device that was 3 years past its effectiveness date.
Mission Health was able to remove the old device, replace it with a new one and provide a health check.
There are countless stories like these that Jane and her team encounter each week.
Mission Health provides vital health care to those who need it most, improving health outcomes across families and communities.