Homelessness and Emergency Medicine: Furthering the Conversation

Abstract

We thank the authors for their interest in our work, for their recommendations for future research, and for the insight they add to the national context of homelessness and emergency medicine. We agree with the authors that Emergency Departments (EDs) across the US have a critical role to play in shedding light on the life-threatening consequences of housing deprivation and in advocating for measures to improve the health of homeless persons, housing being chief among them. We are aware that this is a daunting task—one that pushes the limits of our specialty and challenges us to think differently about health and health care. Indeed, one of the most vexing things about caring for homeless populations in the ED is that they challenge our assumptions that health is the sum total of genetic predispositions and lifestyle choices (e.g., diet and exercise).

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