Operation Safety Net

Operation Safety Net (OSN) is a Street Medicine program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and one of the nation's first full-time street-based delivery medical systems.^[1] OSN was founded in 1992 ^[2] when Dr. Jim Withers ^[3] and Mike Sallows began to make field visits to the homeless in Pittsburgh.^[4] In time, other formerly homeless outreach workers and medical volunteers joined the effort. In 1993, OSN became a nonprofit organization under the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System with Linda Sheets as the program administrator.^[5]

This article is about medical program. For the government mobilization, see Protests in Minneapolis regarding the trial of Derek Chauvin.

Operation Safety Net visits the homeless through walking teams medical outreach staff.^[4] Most of OSN's work force are volunteers. Withers was one of the ten recipients out of the 463 nominees of the $120,000 by the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program in 2002 and $105,000 of which was allocated to OSN.^[6]

References

1. Umar, Kauthar B. MA. “Health Care Headaches: Accessing Safety Net Services,” HHS Office of Minority Health Closing The Gap, August 2003.
2. "Man Who Founded Operation Safety Net is One of CNN's Top 10 Heroes of 2015". CBS Local. October 9, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
3. Fahy, Joe. “Doctors meeting here to consider street peoples’ needs,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Monday, October 10, 2005.
4. Malloy, Michael G. “Pittsburgh’s Operation Safety Net Is Making a Difference to the Underserved,” AAMC Reporter, March, 2003.
5. Lee, Madasyn (November 11, 2020). "Operation Safety Net opening winter shelters for Allegheny County's homeless population". Trib Live. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
6. Srikameswaran, Anita. “‘Street doc’ honored for work with homeless,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Thursday, August 15, 2002.

External links

• Operation Safety Net A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania street medicine program