Paul's Place
According to census data, the Washington Village/Pigtown neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore has the seventh highest concentration of urban poverty in the United States. More than 45,000 residents of Southwest Baltimore live with the consequences of generational poverty, violence, and limited opportunities.
Paul’s Place is a human services outreach center in the Washington Village/Pigtown neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore, just to the west of UMSON’s Baltimore location.
Paul’s Place serves as a catalyst and leader for change, improving the quality of life in the Southwest Baltimore communities it serves. It provides individuals and families with “full access to high-quality health care, education, employment, and housing along with the other support necessary for stability and self-sufficiency.”
UMSON created the original Nurses Clinic at Paul’s Place in 1986. The partnership has continued to evolve, and today, more than 30 School of Nursing students annually provide basic health and wellness services as well as medical case management there. This includes providing basic health screenings, linkage to primary care, referral to other health and social services, triage, wound care, and help with medical supplies and prescriptions to hundreds of Paul’s Place guests each year.
Innovations have included an interprofessional street outreach program, as well as outreach to nearby homeless encampments for on-site triage and recovery support. With the organization’s peer recovery advocate, the Nurses Clinic team travels to encampments, providing food and basic necessities, linkage to homeless services, wound care and dressing supplies, and support and encouragement.
Under the partnership, Megan Doede, PhD, MS ’13, RN, assistant professor, serves formally as director of health and wellness for Paul’s Place, a position previously held by Kelly Doran, PhD ’11, MS ’08, RN, FAAN, associate professor. This model enhances opportunities for student learning around delivering community-based care, while also ensuring continuity of care for area residents when UMSON classes are not in session. In 2016, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing recognized this partnership with its Innovations in Professional Nursing Education Award.
By the Numbers:
- UMSON’s partnership with Paul’s Place provides community health clinical experiences for 30+ nursing students each year.
- Paul’s Place nursing services has hundreds of encounters with community members each year.
- The team at the Paul’s Place Nursing Clinic works with dozens of people experiencing homelessness in the immediate area surrounding Paul’s Place.