Pandemic Response: Providing 24/7 Medical Care and Health Services at a Shelter in Denver
In addition to caring for patients internationally during the pandemic, we turned our attentions close to home to #BeTheGood in our own community providing disaster relief.
International Medical Relief worked with the City of Denver to provide medical staffing at the 300-bed congregate living shelter for unhoused men (formerly a women’s shelter) at the Denver Coliseum to handle and manage the needs of shelter guests that would otherwise go unmet. Our goal was to improve delivery of care, continuity, and services to shelter guests.
Volunteers worked with medical staff to provide services that included:
- Medical care and identification of medical conditions
- Sustainable medical education for guests regarding their current medical issues and help navigating the healthcare system
- Assistance for guests in finding appropriate sustainable resources
- Monitoring medical patients for escalating health issues
- Assessing COVID-19 symptoms and daily temperature checks of pre-quarantine and post-quarantine guests
- Training for shelter guests on how to stop the spread of COVID-19 through proper sanitation, use of PPE, infection control, isolation, and cohorting
We saw an increased number of residents taking charge of their own health, asking for their blood pressure, for help to quit smoking, or for assistance learning about their medication.
During our Coliseum-to-Shelter Conversion
$15,062,420 Saved in Averted ER Visits and Biohazard Calls
Never underestimate your ability to make a difference in this world.
Working to improve the delivery of care, continuity, and services to the Coliseum residents
We saw incredible positive change resulting from our team’s education efforts and our role as a sustainable and comfortable resource for guests, including reducing their dependency on emergency services. Guests became empowered to take an active role in their own health and improve their own health outcomes while reducing the utilization of already overburdened city resources.
Congregate living shelters face serious challenges, and the Coliseum shelter was no exception. Dedicated volunteers made a huge difference in the lives of our shelter guests, especially during those challenging times.
While conducting temp screens during dinner, a resident came up to us with great news! He worked his way toward employment and was moving onto the next chapter in his life. He signed his very first lease and was moving in. He asked if he could extend his gratitude to the entire IMR family.
On behalf of this guest, to all our IMR volunteers who had a helping hand in this monumental project here in Denver, thank you! This work would have been impossible without you.
