A $40,000 grant will allow Alameda (Calif.) Health System physicians to offer home visits to patients.
The Building Trust grant — funded by the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the ABIM Foundation, the American College of Physicians, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation — will support this initiative, according to a Sept. 27 news release.
The health system noted that many patients struggle with unreliable transportation, making it difficult to attend in-person medical appointments and creating a significant barrier to healthcare access. The home visit program aims to eliminate this challenge by addressing the social determinants of health affecting these patients.
"This grant will help AHS offer low barrier and patient-centered, home-based medical care to folks who are in the safety net," Alejandro Diaz, MD, vice-chair of internal medicine at Alameda Health System said in the release. "It's a one-of-a-kind program that allows doctors to meet patients where they are and make direct interventions that can change the course of a patient's life. This program underscores our commitment to proactively addressing the barriers our patients face in receiving care."