“The reality for us here at Fourth Street Clinic is that COVID is moving far faster than we have the resources for,” said Janida Emerson, the clinic’s CEO.
Emerson said that the Fourth Street Clinic has observed a “spike” in COVID-19 in the homeless community recently, just as cases have beenHowever, vaccination rates among unsheltered individuals are generally lower than the rest of the public, Emerson said. On Friday, the health department announced that 59.1% of Utahns have been vaccinated so far.
Fourth Street Clinic provides vaccinations on-site at 409 W. 400 South, as well as at encampments and the homeless resource centers. The clinic also provides masks and other protective equipment to the shelters and sends mobile teams to check on unsheltered people who are more dispersed. She said many homeless people have been traumatized by their interactions with the health care system itself.A COVID-19 test is offered but isn’t required upon entry to the shelters operated by The Road Home, said director of development Kat Kahn. That includes the men’s resource center in South Salt Lake, the Midvale family shelter, the Gail Miller Resource Center and the St. Vincent de Paul winter overflow shelter.
“Over the past two years, the positivity rate has been low enough that we’ve been able to transport infected clients to a separate quarantine and isolation facility, preventing major outbreaks,” Bray said. But the 30-room rented space in Salt Lake City is now at capacity, and the clinic has had to start turning sick people away, Emerson said. Plus, the monthly cost for isolation services is $130,000. The clinic’s funding, Emerson added, dried up at the end of 2021.In October, the Salt Lake County Health Department donated $100,000 to help Fourth Street continue operating the quarantine facility, recognizing that “the need for the resource still exists,” according to a department spokesperson.
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