Page 5 - HealthcareNews May/June 2021

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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 40 UNDER FORTY HONOREE
Dr. Jessica Bossie
Thank you for working with those that need you the most.
– The Springfield Department of Health and Human Services and all staff of Health Services for the Homeless
MAY/JUNE 2021 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM 5
Getting back to Bossie, the 34-year-old mother of three young girls told HCN that, dating back to her time at Boston University School of Medicine, she always intended to care for underserved populations, and was specifi- cally interested in substance-abuse treatment. She had some direct exposure to Boston’s highly acclaimed healthcare program for the homeless, and has brought many of its best practices to this region.
“She understands the whole community here. She cares so much, and it takes someone very special to work with this population.”
She described her work as being 24/7 in nature, and, in general, it calls
for caring for — and advocating for — a homeless population in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties that is bigger than most people would think. Her work involves treatment, but also prevention, and can vary from taking care of athlete’s foot (there’s a lot of that) to issuing pink slips to help- ing someone get off the streets and into housing.
To find out more about this energetic individual and the work she carries out, HCN spent a good chunk of a day with her recently in Northampton. Most of that time was spent at St. John’s Church, where meals were being served through the Manna Community Kitchen (meatloaf was on the menu) and COVID vaccinations were being administered.
A woman who preferred to be known as ‘Lisa’ was among those who stopped by. She described Dr. B as “a dynamo — a doctor of all trades,” who
Dr. Jessica Bossie in the medical room at the Northampton Resource Center.
has helped her in many ways in the two years she’s been seeing her.
“She understands the whole community here,” she went on. “She cares so
much, and it takes someone very special to work with this population.”
Primary Concerns
In most respects, it looks like a treatment room at a medical clinic, right down to the eye chart on the wall — and that’s exactly what it is.
But because of those being served, some of the supplies are different than what you would find at a typical clinic. For example, there are ample stores of sunscreen, said Bossie, who couldn’t say how much she dispenses during a typical day during the warmer months, other than to say it’s a large amount. There’s also a good supply of reading glasses, which she says she hands out “like candy.”
And then, there are the foot-care products, especially treatment for athlete’s
Please see Homeless, page 7