Community Corner
Harvard's Dr. Jim O’Connell Addresses Caring for Unhoused People
Conversations on Health Care
Dr. Jim O’Connell, the subject of the new book “Rough Sleepers,” joins us to share what he’s learned from interacting with and trying to treat Boston’s unhoused population.
He says:
- Doctors need to realize they have little control in the shelters or on the streets, especially compared to an intensive care unit, where they have much greater control.
- He started by asking to soak people’s feet who were living on the streets. This allowed him to relearn how to relate to and listen to people.
- All of these actions had to occur before he could even think about writing a prescription.
Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to hear Dr. O’Connell describe his work, including his effort to develop the nation’s first computerized medical record for a program for unhoused people.
