Primary Care Training and Enhancement -- Residency Training in Street Medicine - Idaho State University’s Family Medicine Residency (ISU FMR) proposes the Idaho Frontiers of Street Medicine Project (IFSMP) to expand the training of family medicine physicians in delivering high-quality, evidence-based care to people experiencing homelessness. Idaho has a growing population of individuals facing housing instability, yet access to medical care in non-traditional settings remains limited. ISU FMR will integrate street medicine training into residency education, equipping future physicians with the skills to provide comprehensive care to vulnerable populations in unsheltered environments. Objectives: The goal of IFSMP is to increase the number of primary care physicians trained in street medicine who are prepared to care for individuals experiencing homelessness by bringing healthcare directly to them. ISU FMR will achieve this by: 1. Developing structured clinical rotations, didactics, and interprofessional training that include behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, and medical-legal advocacy. 2. Enhancing residents’ ability to navigate medical, behavioral health, legal, and social systems to improve patient outcomes. 3. Expanding interprofessional collaboration through partnerships with behavioral health, pharmacy, legal aid, and mobile outreach teams to address social determinants of health. HHS Clinical Priorities: Behavioral Health, Opioids / Substance Use Disorder, Rural Health, Telehealth / Telemedicine. Methodology: IFSMP will establish formalized street medicine rotations, beginning with an intern community medicine month and progressing to advanced training in unsheltered care. Residents will work alongside faculty, interprofessional teams, and community outreach organizations to deliver care in shelters, mobile clinics, and encampments. Faculty development will focus on trauma-informed care, crisis de-escalation, and resource navigation. Funding Preference: The Medically Underserved Community Funding Preference is requested and met based on Qualification 1: High Rate. In the 22/23 and 23/24 academic years, 87.5% of ISU FMR graduates went on to practice in medically underserved communities. Funding Priority: The ISU DFM requests, and qualifies for, the “train residents in rural areas” funding priority. The IFSMP will train residents in Idaho communities designated as rural by the Federal Office of Rural Health policy including: American Falls, Rexburg, Rupert, Fort Hall, Cottonwood, and numerous rural rotation sites throughout the State.
