Global Health at Princeton

Wednesday, Feb. 20th - 4:30pm - 6:00 - Bowl 2, Robertson Hall
Public reception to follow in Bernstein Gallery, Robertson Hall

Give Me A Shot Of Anything: House Calls To The Homeless examines how we as a society treat our least fortunate. This is an exclusive look into the world of the homeless and the doctors who care for them. Those who are willing to look at the ‘bum on the street’ and see the person inside. A person who could be you or me. 

Dr. Jim O'Connell is the preeminent expert on health care for the homeless. He also happens to be a charismatic street doctor with unrivaled dedication to his patients. The film follows Dr. Jim and his extraordinary team as they make 'house calls' to the homeless, delivering life- saving medical care and offering their patients a chance to feel whole again.

Canvassing the parks, back alleys and streets of Boston, and building on the relationships he has formed over the last 30 years, he patches up those he can, and offers others with more serious illnesses a way to escape before it's too late.

This salvation from the streets is the McInnis House Respite Center. It is here that the homeless can recuperate, get a clean bed, three meals a day, and some of the best medical care available. It’s a place that the forgotten can call home and where they can think about what their next steps might be.

Jim O'Connell, MD
President and Founder of Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program
Dr. O'Connell helped found BHCHP in 1985, after completing his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. O'Connell assists BHCHP's Board of Directors in setting the strategic direction for the program. He also advocates for public policies and programs to address the needs of homeless people. Dr. O'Connell juggles his active role as president with the demands of a busy clinical practice, spending much of his time caring for Boston's homeless population on the street and in one of the program's hospital-based clinics. Nationally recognized as one of the preeminent experts on homelessness and healthcare, Dr. O'Connell lectures extensively and publishes widely. He is the editor of the Manual of Communicable Diseases in Shelters - one of the most widely used texts on homeless healthcare. Dr. O'Connell earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School and a master's degree in philosophy and theology from Cambridge University in England. This past November, he was honored with the 2012 Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism.

Jill Roncarati, PA-C, MPH
Physician Assistant on Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program's Street Team
Jill S. Roncarati is a doctoral candidate at Harvard School of Public Health and a physician assistant (PA) at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. She has worked as a PA on the Street Team since 2001, caring for patients on the streets and under bridges and with the advent of Housing First, began delivering care to people formerly “sleeping rough” in their apartments. Her thesis at HSPH is devoted to morbidity and mortality and health effects of housing for rough sleepers.

This event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Center for Health and Wellbeing, the Program in Global Health and Health Policy and Health Professions Advising, in collaboration with PICS and the Pace Center.