Learn about street medicine, its purpose and importance, the communities it aims to aid locally and globally, and the history of Street Medicine Institute from Founder and Pitt Medicine Faculty Jim Withers. 

Featuring an introduction by Pitt Public Health Dean Maureen Lichtveld. 

*This event is eligible for Public Health Grand Rounds. 

About Jim Withers: 

In 1992, Jim Withers dressed as a homeless person and joined a formerly homeless man to visit the street dwellers of Pittsburgh, making "house calls" at night. This initiative led to his program, Operation Safety Net, that brings medical care and social services directly to the unsheltered homeless.  It also serves as a pioneering classroom for students of various disciplines to learn the principles of reality-based care. 

In 2005, Withers established the annual International Street Medicine Symposium (with current partners in North America, South and Central America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia) to foster collaboration in the care of those sleeping on the streets. 

In 2009, Withers created the new non-profit Street Medicine Instititute to promote the global practice of street medicine. He also practices with the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, is on the internal medicine teaching faculty of UPMC Mercy Hospital, and is assistant clinical professor of medicine at Pitt.