Medical, Dental, and Vision Care

Poverty and life on the streets lead to a unique set of medical concerns.  At St. Francis House, our physicians, nurse practitioners, and registered nurses have the experience and expertise to treat them. 

Operated onsite by Boston Health Care for the Homeless, our drop-in clinic provides approximately 13,000 appointments per year, making it second only to Boston Medical Center as the busiest health care site in the city for homeless adults.  We offer a full range of emergency and preventive health services for men and women.  Dental and vision care are also available on a regular basis, and HIV testing and counseling is available two days per month. 

Unique to St. Francis House is our Whole Health Care Clinic.  Launched in October, 2004, the clinic is a holistic, continuous, integrated system of care for patients dually diagnosed with substance abuse and mental illness.  It incorporates mental illness, substance disorders, medical conditions, and vocational and social skill dimensions.  More traditional practice generally requires that an individual complete treatment for substance abuse before being eligible for vocational training.  In our Whole Health Care Clinic, access to one service is not predicated on successful completion of another; instead, services complement and reinforce one another.  The Whole Health Care Clinic currently serves 50 of our most at-risk guests.