Omaha homeless shelter opens very own medical clinic

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Like many of her neighbors at the Stephen Center, Marcia Butler uses her walker to get around. The Stephen Center is a shelter for individuals to overcome homelessness and addiction.

Butler’s options for getting the medical care she needed were to walk outside in the cold or depend on someone to drive her. However, that’s changed with a new clinic right inside the center.

“I think it’s awesome it is a huge step for Stephen Center and for the residents,” Butler said.

Brandon Vaughn also lives at Stephen Center. He takes medications every day. When he would run out, he tells us he would have to wait a couple of days just to get a refill.

“It was hard to get to a doctor’s appointment and things like that,” Vaughn said.

Butler and Vaughn will both benefit from the new clinic. We were told it will provide primary care services including diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic diseases.

“This way we will have the medical person available even if it’s for a few days to make the diagnosis for us and then we can get help a lot quicker,” Butler said.

Stephen Center’s new clinic is in partnership with Oneworld Community Health. The two have been partners for years ever since OneWorld started opening spots for Stephen Center clients to make sure they got the care they needed.

“I’m elated that we’re finally here at the Stephen Center after about fifteen years ago I was a registered nurse working at Oneworld and we would have Stephen Center patients walking in,” Miller said.

Miller said she wants the clinic to offer a sense of predictability to its clients.

“We have one thing that is simple and that is healthcare that everybody deserves.”

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