Onsite Medical Services

It’s hard to access preventative health care services when you’re living without shelter and with severe and persistent mental illness. So, it’s not surprising that most people who experience chronic homelessness get most of their medical care in emergency rooms, often after routine conditions have become matters of life and death.

There’s a better way.

Bringing health care services into our housing and shelter programs allows people to access care much more easily, from people they know and trust. Routine treatments are given before ailments become life-threatening. Expensive emergency room visits and hospital stays are avoided.

We provide better care at a lower cost, and emergency rooms can be used as intended—for emergencies. It’s a win-win-win for our clients and our community.

DESC and our partners provide hundreds of medical services for our clients every day.

Harborview Medical Center

We partner with Harborview to provide primary care in our main shelter, in our behavioral health clinic in Pioneer Square and at our 1811 Eastlake supportive housing program. They also provide health care for residents at The Estelle, another supportive housing program where fifteen homes are set aside to be filled by Harborview. The partnership creates homes for people who are ready to leave the hospital but cannot be discharged because they don’t have a safe and healthy place to live.

Neighborcare Health

Neighborcare Health has primary care providers located at eight of our supportive housing buildings: Aurora House, Canaday House, Clement Place, Cottage Grove Commons, Interbay Place, Kerner Scott House and The Morrison.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Medical staff from the VA provide onsite care at DESC.

Medication Management

If you’ve helped an aging relative to take their pills at the right times each day then you know how critical medication management can be. Sometimes, a bit of help in this area means that a person can live independently instead of moving into a nursing home or managed care setting. DESC staff help clients take prescribed medication an average of 55 times each hour every day