Northwell Health’s innovative program to bring care to Long Island’s homeless population has been recognized by the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) with its 2025 Community Health Improvement Award.
Northwell’s Street Medicine Program targets homeless encampments throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties, in collaboration with the nonprofit aid organization Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, building trust and providing onsite care for society’s most vulnerable. The pilot, launched in May 2024, has sent teams into 25 communities – from Hempstead to Wading River – to connect with those in need as well as participate in an annual census to identify undomiciled persons.
“We started it with the goal of meeting people where they are,” said Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, executive vice president of the Institute for Community Health and Wellness at Northwell. “We know that people live in the woods, live on the street, live in cars. How do they get access to health care? How do they get access to the services that they need? The goal of the program is to find the unhoused community, develop trust, develop a relationship with them and then learn about their needs – health care and otherwise.”
There are nearly 10,000 Long Islanders who experience homelessness each year, an issue that’s only being exacerbated by factors such as rising costs coupled with the region’s longstanding housing crisis. The undomiciled face health disparities, higher rates of chronic illnesses, along with a range of mental health issues and substance use disorders. Northwell’s commitment to social determinants of health and community well-being was recognized by HANYS at an awards ceremony on June 19.
“These people could be your neighbors, or were your neighbors, just a month or two ago,” said Mary Mahoney, NP, vice president of Emergency Management and Clinical Preparedness at Northwell and the lead clinician for the Street Medicine Program. “Our mission is we go where the people are. That may be in a park, at a gas station, in front of a shopping center, in the middle of the woods or on a ramp along the highway. Where they are, we are.”
Over the first nine months of the program, Northwell served 54 unique patients through 103 patient encounters. In addition to addressing immediate health needs, five patients were assisted in finding housing – with four more pending placements – and 19 patients were referred to specialists for advanced medical care.
“Every agency has tremendous strengths, right? Every agency has things that they do very, very, very well. But there is not a single one that can do everything that exists out there,” said Greta Guarton, executive director of Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. “Partnerships like the one the coalition has with Northwell Health has brought so much to the folks that we’re serving.”
The Community Health Improvement Award, established by HANYS in 1997, recognizes outstanding initiatives designed to improve the health and well-being of communities. The award is presented to facilities and programs that target specific community health needs while emphasizing the importance of health equity, leadership, collaboration with diverse community partners and achieving quantifiable results.
“The Street Medicine Program truly embodies the spirit of HANYS’ Community Health Improvement Award,” said HANYS President Bea Grause, RN, JD. “Health systems partnering with like-minded organizations, each one contributing their expertise to better serve their community – when we work together like this, so much can be achieved. HANYS is honored to celebrate and raise awareness of this tremendous program.”
About Northwell Health
Northwell is the largest not-for-profit health system in the Northeast, serving residents of New York and Connecticut with 28 hospitals, more than 1,000 outpatient facilities, 22,000 nurses and over 20,000 physicians. Northwell cares for more than three million people annually in the New York metro area, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Northwell is New York State’s largest private employer with over 104,000 employees – including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners and Nuvance Health Medical Practices – who are working to change health care for the better. Northwell is making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Northwell is training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.