COTS Pediatric Pop-Up Clinic Increases Vaccine Use, Builds Trust
The concept of a “pop-up” is mostly thought of as a limited retail venture designed to test market demand for its product/services. Seldom is it used to test a health care initiative.
Mackenzie Fountain, D.O., a pediatrician who recently concluded his training at Authority Health, along with other pediatrics residents and Bloom Pediatrics, a private pediatric practice, tested the idea of a monthly primary care clinic in COTS, a Detroit shelter serving women and children. The idea was to provide primary care and encourage vaccines that are essential for school and preventing communicable diseases like the flu. It was initiated last October.
Dr. Fountain and 11 physician colleagues, including Chaya Pittman-Hunt, D.O., director of the Authority Health Pediatric Residency, co-authored “An Investigation on Increasing Childhood Vaccine Rates by Introducing Direct Primary Care in an Urban Family Shelter.” The project was presented as a poster at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Toronto, Canada, in May. It was funded in part through a CATCH grant provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Vaccine acceptance was found to be slightly higher than their goal. “This study did show a statistical difference in the increase in vaccination rates when direct primary care was given to kids experiencing homelessness getting shelter-based care…. We hope this is used as a pilot study for more inclusive care for kids experiencing homelessness,” according to the poster.
Participants at the Toronto conference were intrigued with the concept, Dr. Fountain said. “People had thought about doing this but haven’t done it… It was inspirational (and) inspired other residents.”
The monthly pop-up clinic alleviated transportation problems while building trust among parents through regular exposure, Dr. Fountain explained. “Mistrust” of health care providers was a major barrier to overcome.
The pop-up clinic was meant to be a short-term bridge as the families were in an unsheltered state. However, the pediatricians and shelter staff worked to find permanent pediatricians for children once they left COTS. Dr. Fountain expects the pop-up to remain as new families come to the shelter. Second year residents and interns have been trained to succeed Dr. Fountain and his other third-year pediatric resident colleagues.
Authority Health graduated its ninth class of Teaching Health Center residents on July 12th. Twenty-one residents completed their training. More than 50 percent chose practice sites in medically underserved areas. Dr. Fountain will practice as a primary care pediatrician in Dearborn, Michigan.
