Prior to treating refugees through the Philadelphia Refugee Health Collaborative, Dr. Altshuler said refugees’ first experience with the U.S. healthcare system was through local health centers. However, the model led refugees to experience significant delays and limited access to life-saving and preventive care measures which hindered their ability to build new lives in the U.S.
To improve healthcare outcomes for refugees in Philadelphia, the National Service Center decided to partner with the department of family and community medicine at the Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University College of Medicine to form the Philadelphia Refugee Health Collaborative, a partnership that not only improved the care refugees received, but also helped familiarize them with the medical care delivery process in the U.S., according to Dr. Altshuler. Since initiating the collaboration in 2007, three additional resettlement agencies and 13 university-affiliated and federally qualified health centers throughout the Pennsylvania region joined the cause, according to the article.
The partnership has also benefitted Thomas Jefferson University resident physicians and medical students. The students work to diagnose acute and chronic illness, screen for mental health issues, and introduce the concept of preventative care to the patients, while also gaining insight into illnesses that are prevalent in developing countries, but are rarely seen in the U.S., according to Dr. Altshuler.
Despite the many challenges, Dr. Altshuler emphasized the importance of maintaining programs such as the Philadelphia Refugee Health Collaborative to “provide a service to those less fortunate, while enriching the knowledge of our future medical generation,” according to the article.
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