Rethinking Homelessness, Health, and Housing - A View from the Streets – the 2022 MMS Annual Oration
This webinar (recorded on October 27, 2022), shares the story of how Dr. Jim O’Connell, President and Founder of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, transitioned from the role of Internal Medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital to
one of the country’s first street doctors for those experiencing homelessness. Recounting his thirty-seven years of serving Boston’s most vulnerable population, Dr. O’Connell details the history of homelessness and illuminates the undue burden of
co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and substance use disorders among chronically homeless persons. Dr. O’Connell reflects on the many lessons he’s learned while caring for his patients.
History of the Oration
The Massachusetts Medical Society’s (MMS) Annual Oration dates back to 1804 when Dr. Isaac Rand delivered his dissertation entitled, On Phthisis Pulmonalis, and the Use of the Warm Bath. For more than 200 years, MMS orators
have addressed a wide spectrum of topics germane to the evolving practice of medicine.
Faculty
James (Jim) J. O’Connell, MD
Dr. O’Connell graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1970 and received his master’s degree in theology from Cambridge University in 1972. After graduating from Harvard Medical School
in 1982, he completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In 1985, Dr. O'Connell began fulltime clinical work with homeless individuals as the founding physician of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program,
which now serves over 11,000 homeless persons each year in two hospital-based clinics (Boston Medical Center and MGH) and in more than 40 shelters and outreach sites in Boston. With his colleagues, Dr. O’Connell established the nation’s first medical
respite program for homeless persons in September 1985, with 25 beds in the Lemuel Shattuck Shelter. This innovative program now provides acute and sub-acute, pre- and post-operative, and palliative and end-of-life care in the freestanding 104-bed
Barbara McInnis House. Working with the MGH Laboratory of Computer Science, Dr. O’Connell designed and implemented the nation’s first computerized medical record for a homeless program in 1995.
From 1989 until 1996, Dr. O'Connell served as the National Program Director of the Homeless Families Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Dr. O’Connell is the editor of The Health Care
of Homeless Persons: A Manual of Communicable Diseases and Common Problems in Shelters and on the Streets. His articles have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation, the American
Journal of Public Health, the Journal of Clinical Ethics, and several other medical journals.
Dr. O’Connell has been featured on ABC’s Nightline and in several feature-length documentaries including Give Me a Shot of Anything and The Antidote. He has received numerous awards, including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award in 2012 and The Trustees’
Medal at the bicentennial celebration of MGH in 2011. Dr. O’Connell has collaborated with homeless programs in many cities in the USA and across the globe, including Los Angeles, London, and Sydney. Dr. O’Connell’s book Stories from the Shadows: Reflections
of a Street Doctor was published in 2015 in celebration of BHCHP’s 30th anniversary. Dr. O’Connell is president of BHCHP and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Intended Audience
This activity is designed for health care leaders, physicians, residents, other health care professionals and students in all health care professions.
Course Objectives
- Describe what is known about premature mortality and other health care disparities faced by urban homeless populations.
- Identify the importance of incorporating patient feedback into a community-based health care model, including the implementation of a Consumer Advisory Board.
- Detail a model of street medicine that is integrated into the community as well as the hospital.
- Discuss the undue burden of co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and substance use disorders among chronically homeless persons.
Course Fees
Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Physician Member: $40.00
MMS Resident/Student Member: Free
Non-Member Physician: $90.00
Non-Members Resident/Student: $20.00
Allied Health Professional/Other: $32.00
Format & Estimated Time to Complete
Video,
1 hour
Accreditation and Credit Information
Accreditation Statement
The Massachusetts Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education
for physicians.
AMA Credit Designation Statement
The Massachusetts Medical Society designates this internet enduring material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1
Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
MOC Approval Statement
Through the American Board of Medical Specialties (“ABMS”) ongoing commitment to increase access to practice relevant Continuing Certification Activities through the ABMS Continuing Certification Directory, This activity has met the requirements as a Lifelong Learning CME Activity (apply toward general CME requirement) for the following ABMS Member Boards:
Allergy and Immunology
Anesthesiology
Colon and Rectal Surgery
Family Medicine
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Plastic Surgery
Preventive Medicine
Psychiatry and Neurology
Radiology
Thoracic Surgery
Urology
National Commission on Certification of Physicians Assistant
(NCCPA)
Physician Assistants may claim a maximum of 1.00 Category 1 credits for completing this activity. NCCPA accepts AMA PRA
Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.
Exam/Assessment: A score of 70% or higher is required to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Activity Term
Original Release Date: November 1, 2022
Review Date (s): N/A
Termination Date: November 1, 2025
System Requirements
Desktops/Laptops
Windows 10
Mac OSX 10.6 higher
Most modern browsers including:
IE 11+
Firefox 18.0+
Chrome latest version
Safari 12+
Mobile/Tablet
iOS devices beginning with OS version 10 or higher (includes, iPhone, ipad and iTouch devices)
