CHOP Night volunteers — including attending physicians, medical and dental residents, nurses, and medical, dental, nursing and social work students — continue to see many children during CHOP Nights at our partner shelters and have a positive impact on the health of the children living there.

Through CHOP Night, HHI volunteers were able to see 8-year-old “Linda,” who began to fall asleep in the middle of her exam. This alarmed the doctors, prompting them to further discuss these issues with Linda’s grandmother. The clinicians learned about Linda’s complicated bio-psycho-social history, including a history of neurological issues within her family. Being brand-new to the shelter, Linda and her family had not been assigned a case manager yet.

Once the case manager was assigned, she worked with the HHI team to advocate for Linda and her grandmother to make the necessary appointments with a primary care physician and a neurologist. The HHI team followed up with shelter staff to ensure that Linda was receiving the care she needed. It is this triad relationship — shelter staff, HHI volunteers and clinicians — that helped ensure Linda received proper follow-up care.