Street Medicine Fellowship Curriculum

The Henry Ford Hospital Street Medicine Fellowship is designed to train clinicians in the direct provision of healthcare and social support to people experiencing street homelessness, combining clinical skills with advocacy, systems understanding, and community engagement. The core activities of the Henry Ford Hospital Street Medicine Fellowship will be the practice of street medicine, research and quality improvement projects, teaching of medical students and residents, leadership development, and advocacy. There is flexibility in the curriculum to enable the fellow to achieve their individualized goals. Access to the global leadership of the field will be accomplished through the Street Medicine Institute and participation at the annual International Street Medicine Symposium.

Core Educational Components

The Street Medicine longitudinal curriculum integrates:

• Mental health and substance use disorders – assessment, treatment, and harm reduction strategies.
• Chronic disease management – tailored care for conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease in challenging environments.
• Infectious disease – prevention, screening, and treatment for conditions such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV.
• Structural violence and social determinants – understanding how systemic inequities impact health outcomes.
• Advocacy and policy – engaging with housing, public health, and social services.
• Housing systems – navigating and advocating for permanent supportive housing.
• Street ultrasound – point-of-care imaging for rapid assessment in outreach settings

Clinical and Academic Balance

The program blends:

• Street outreach – direct patient care in unsheltered settings with faculty support.
• Outpatient Clinical Experience – in Internal Medicine to build generalist and specialty skills for patients at the CHASS Pope Francis Center Site.
• Academic opportunities – lectures, case discussions, research and interdisciplinary team meetings

Learning Objectives (ACGME-Aligned)

The Street Medicine Institute Educator Coalition has developed learning objectives grounded in the ACGME six core competencies

1. Patient Care – direct clinical care in street settings.
2. Medical Knowledge – understanding of mental health, infectious disease, chronic illness, and social determinants.
3. Interpersonal & Communication Skills – building trust, cultural humility, and rapport with vulnerable populations.
4. Professionalism – ethical practice, advocacy, and respect for patient dignity.
5. Practice-Based Learning & Improvement – reflecting on clinical experiences and adapting care strategies.
6. Systems-Based Practice – engaging with housing, public health, and policy systems.

Program Goals

By the end of the fellowship, participants should:

• Be competent in providing comprehensive, compassionate care to the unsheltered.
• Understand the intersection of health, housing, and social systems.
• Be able to lead or contribute to street medicine programs in their communities

In summary: The street medicine fellowship curriculum is interdisciplinary, combining direct patient care with advocacy, systems engagement, and academic learning, all aligned to ACGME competencies, to prepare clinicians to address the complex health needs of the unsheltered population.

The core activities of the Henry Ford Hospital Street Medicine Fellowship

A particular emphasis of the fellowship is the interface of care between the unsheltered population and the Henry Ford Hospital. These areas include:

• Practice of street medicine: Fellow will participate in street runs with CHASS Street Medicine team three to four half days per week.
• Hospital consults: Emergency Department and Inpatient Street Medicine consult services at Henry Ford Hospital.
• Transitional Housing medical care: Weekly continuity clinic at the CHASS PFC Clinic Site.
• Research/Quality Improvement: Fellows will have the support to pursue a research or QI project, in an area of interest
• Teaching: Fellows will have the opportunity to teach medical students and residents on rotation with CHASS Street Medicine and through formal lectures. There will be opportunities to support the HRSA Primary Care Training and Enhancement – Residency Training in Street Medicine Grant- Henry Ford Hospital Family Medicine Family Medicine Residency-Street Medicine, Impactful Leadership Enhancement in Family Medicine (SMILE-FAM)
• Addiction Medicine: Opportunity to learn from leaders in addiction medicine at CHASS, in addition to experience at CHASS low-barrier Buprenorphine Clinic.
• Infectious Disease: work alongside Infectious Disease Physician treating Hep C, HIV etc. Interact with team working on SAMHSA Henry Ford Hospital/CHASS Hepatitis C treatment grant.
• Leadership development and advocacy: Collaboration with the Street Medicine Institute, visiting other street medicine programs, and participating in shared didactics and reflection with other Street Medicine Fellowships.
• Clinical Exposure to Wound Care, POCUS, Homeless Care in the Emergency Department, Podiatry Care and Methadone Clinic that will occur with in Henry Ford Health and the Detroit community.
• Advocacy: Learning from leaders supporting advocacy locally and nationally. Will help to lead the newly formed Michigan Street Medicine Collaborative.

Academics/Didactics:

Henry Ford Hospital/CHASS PFC Didactics:
Wednesday Afternoons 1pm

National Street Medicine Fellowship Collaboration Educational Sessions
First Wednesday of the month 12-1pm Virtual
Pillars of Street Medicine Fellowship Curriculum

• Leadership development, street medicine competency
• Understand how a program can be run
• Research
• Public speaking, tell the world about it.
• Peripheral vision- what does it look like, bigger cities, smaller cities, international
• Advocacy
• Political education

Schedule:

July 8, 2026- 12 PM EST, 11 CST -Invite former fellows back, Intro to understanding causes of homelessness.
August 5, 2026- Addiction (Detroit)
September 2, 2026- ID-HIV, Hep C (Pittsburgh)
October 7, 2026- Wound Care (Ft. Worth)

• Share literature related to Street Medicine topic one week before lecture
• Fellows meet up at ISMS 2026, Halifax

Street Medicine ECHO

The Street Medicine ECHO was developed to create a space for individuals interested in the field to come together to provide peer support, share best practices, seek advice and learn about the key concepts necessary for a successful Street Medicine program.

Using the ECHO Model, a multidisciplinary team with expertise in medical, psychiatric and social work care for the unsheltered homeless will support participants through didactic and case-based presentations. Target participants include all team members involved in street medicine, inclusive of both clinical and non-clinical professions. People with lived experience are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

This program is operated in collaboration with the Street Medicine Institute.

Session Details

2nd Monday of each month, 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. MT

Conference Attendance

• International Street Medicine Symposium September 27-30, 2026. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Other Street Medicine Conference.

Funding for each conference is $3000 for each the fellow and one faculty member.

Street Medicine Exchange Experience
Street Medicine Fellow will have the opportunity to witness the practice of street medicine in other locations outside of Detroit. This will be coordinated and decided upon by fellow and fellowship leadership. Funding for the street medicine exchange per year is $7250 for the fellow and $7050 for faculty.

Research and Quality Improvement
Each Street Medicine Fellow will be required to participate in scholarly work with the goal of presentation and publication. Funding to support presentation and publication is $2000 per year.

Other Required Meetings:

• CHASS Street Medicine Team Weekly Check In
  • Tuesdays 8:00-8:30 AM
• CHASS Street Medicine Leadership Meeting
  
  • Third Tuesday of month, 12:00-1:00 PM
• PFC Clinic + Leadership Meeting
  
  • Third Wednesday 12:00-1:00 PM
• City of Detroit- Monthly Street Outreach Workgroup.
  • First Thursday 3:00-4:30
• Detroit-area Harm Reduction Meeting
  
  • Quarterly Meeting