I hated to wake her up, but I wanted to be sure she’d be OK with being in the photo about to be taken. When she awoke she greeted me with a smile and a laugh. I asked her how she was doing and as he giggled and picked away at the muffin beside her.

“I’m great. God is so good.” She said with grin.

I was floored by her gratitude. Here was a beautiful young woman with no material goods to her name but the well worn and unwashed clothes on her yet rich with positivity and a spiritual connection.

She was there to get a tuberculosis (T.B.) test, as one is needed every 6 months to stay in San Francisco’s shelter programs. It was obvious that she hadn’t been getting enough rest, as she kept drifting in and out of consciousness during her visit to St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic.

“Can I get something saying I was here today for this test? I need it for the shelter.” She asked Medical Assistant Jaime Martinez. He got her all the proper documentation she would need and wished her well as she left the Clinic.

St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic began nearly 60 years ago in response to a T.B. outbreak in San Francisco. Almost 6 decades later we are meeting those needs, along with hundreds more, in concert with the city of San Francisco and our poor and homeless neighbors to keep our community alive and healthy.

San Francisco has the highest rate of tuberculosis (TB) in the U.S., with recurrent outbreaks among the homeless and marginally housed, according to the most recent study on homelessness and TB by Harvard Medical School. Additionally, the Tenderloin has the highest rates of TB in San Francisco. To address this health care crisis, St. Anthony’s will offer free tuberculosis screening on Wednesday August 13th, 2008, as a part of National Health Care for the Homeless Day. According to findings released at last week’s International AIDS Society conference in Mexico City, TB is one of the leading causes of AIDS mortality. In the last two weeks both the World Heath Organization and Journal of the American Medical Association have urged expanded screening for communities in which HIV and TB intersect. Screening for the deadly airborne bacteria is also critical for San Francisco homeless, as all San Francisco city shelter clients must provide current TB test documentation to stay in city run shelters.

“The highest rates of TB are found in the Tenderloin. Although we test all of our scheduled patients for TB, this additional outreach for screening will help bring more people into the folds of healthcare and treatment, which is good for everyone. The more people we can test, the more people we can get treated,” noted St. Anthony Free Clinic Medical Director, Dr. Ana Valdes.

WHEN: NATIONAL HEALTHCARE FOR THE HOMELESS DAY/TB SCREENING
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Special Screening Hours 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: St. Anthony’s (New Green Facilities)
150 Golden Gate, San Francisco

St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic is one of the many free, life-sustaining programs and services of St. Anthony Foundation that helps to heal individuals and families. The Clinic provides over 12,000 patient visits annually, of which approximately 25% are pediatric visits. St. Anthony Foundation is not funded by federal, state, or local government money, and is entirely supported by private donations.