Community Care in Reach®

Community Care in Reach®

Community Care in Reach®, previously known as CareZONE, is an innovative mobile health initiative that brings together partners in preventive care, addiction services, and harm reduction to serve individuals not well-connected to health care, experiencing homelessness and/or living with addiction.

Using an innovative partnership model, Community Care in Reach combats the opioid epidemic with accessible, on-demand care. In Boston, experienced staff from Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and the Boston Public Health Commission’s AHOPE program provide a range of services on the van and connect patients to community health centers, treatment programs, or specialty care.

• Addiction Services: Medications for addiction treatment and referrals to opioid treatment programs & in-patient detox
• Harm Reduction: Naloxone, overdose prevention education, risk reduction counseling, and syringe exchange
• Preventive Care: Screenings, immunizations, chronic disease management (including hypertension, diabetes, HIV treatment), and referrals to behavioral health, hepatitis C treatment, specialty medical care, and other services based on patient needs and preferences.

To learn more about the program, please watch the video below.

This innovative program was originally launched in Boston in January 2018. In 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health granted funding to four mobile addiction service sites across the Commonwealth, including the original Boston program and two additional Community Care in Reach affiliates. The expansion of the program was also made possible by the generous donation of two mobile units by the Robert K. Kraft Family to the new sites in Worcester and Western Massachusetts as well as ongoing support from our partners at The GE Foundation. A list of each Community Care in Reach site and the program partners.

In April 2021, Brockton Neighborhood Health Center officially launched their Community Care in Reach mobile program supported by generous donation of a state-of-the-art mobile medical unit from The Robert K. Kraft Family. Initial operations costs for the Brockton program were funded through the HEALing Communities Study. See a video of the program launch below.

In September 2022, UMass Memorial Medical Center also launched their Community Care in Reach mobile unit, once again supported by the generosity of The Robert K. Kraft Family. The UMass mobile team’s efforts are supported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. See a video of their ribbon cutting ceremony below.

For more information on Community Care in Reach, please visit our Contact Us page.

The Boston Health Care for the Homeless Institute for Research, Quality & Policy in Homeless Health Care completed an evaluation of the 10-month pilot program in Boston. To read their full report, click here.

Publications

• June 18, 2024 – Frontiers in Public Health: “Mobile Addiction Treatment and Harm Reduction Services as Tools to Address Health Inequities: A Community Case Study of the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center” by Allyson Pinkhover, MPH, CPhT; Kelly Celata, LMHC; Trevor Baker, MSc; Avik Chatterjee, MD, MPH; and Karsten Lunze, MD, MPH, DrPH 
• June 13, 2024 – Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment: “Mobile Clinics for Opioid Use Disorders: What They Do and How They Do It. A Qualitative Analysis” by Margot Trotter Davis, PhD, MSW; Cynthia A. Tschampl, PhD; Dominic Hodgkin, PhD; Craig Regis, MPH; Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH; Ben Plant, MPH; Brittni Reilly, MSW; and Constance M. Horgan, ScD, MA
• May 15, 2023 – Substance Use & Misuse: “Health Care Utilization among Homeless-Experienced Adults Who Were Seen by a Mobile Addiction Health Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts: A Quasi-Experimental Study” by Danielle R. Fine, MD, MSc; Andrea Joyce, MA; Yuchiao Chang, PhD; Elizabeth Lewis, MBA; Karen Weinstock, BS; Joseph Wright, MD; Jessie M. Gaeta, MD; Zirui Song, MD, PhD; and Travis P. Baggett, MD, MPH
• March 29, 2023 – Journal of Comparative Effectiveness: “Protocol for the Implementation of a Statewide Mobile Addiction Program” by Cynthia A. Tschampl, PhD; Craig Regis, MPH; Nafissa E. Johnson, MPH; Margot Trotter Davis, PhD, MSW; Dominic Hodgkin, PhD; Mary F. Brolin, PhD, MA; Elizabeth Do; Constance M. Horgan, ScD, MA; Traci C. Green, PhD, MSc; Brittni Reilly, MSW; MaryKate Duska, MPH; and Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH
• February 23, 2022 – Substance Use & Misuse: “Awareness, Utilization, and Preferences of Harm Reduction Interventions among Street-Involved Young Adults in Boston” by Elizabeth A. Noyes, BS; Spencer Dunleavy, AB; Victoria Mail, MA; Isabel Plakas, BA; Susan Keyes, DrPH, RN; Jessie M. Gaeta, MD; Auro Obando, MD; Elizabeth Paci, MD; Claudia Lent, MSW; Craig Regis, MPH; Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH; Amy M. Yule, MD; and Avik Chatterjee, MD, MPH
• August 3, 2021 – Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved: “Experience with a Mobile Addiction Program among People Experiencing Homelessness” by Danielle R. Fine, MD, MSc; Karen Weinstock, BS; Isabel Plakas, BA; Sarah Mackin, MPH; Joseph Wright, MD; Jessie M. Gaeta, MD;  Karen Donelan, ScD, EdM; and Travis P. Baggett, MD, MPH
• September 25, 2020 – Frontiers in Public Health: “Community Care in Reach: Mobilizing Harm Reduction and Addiction Treatment Services for Vulnerable Populations” by Craig Regis, MPH; Jessie M. Gaeta, MD; Sarah Mackin, MPH; Travis P. Baggett, MD, MPH; Joan Quinlan, MPA; and Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH

Community Care in Reach® In the Media

• February 24, 2024 – Boston Globe: “‘Tranqs’ and other drugs are causing harder-to-revive overdoses across Mass.” by Chris Serres
• January 27, 2023 – WCVB 5 ABC: “5 Investigates: New Drug Contributing to Overdose Epidemic in Massachusetts” by Mike Beaudet
• September 7, 2022 – Spectrum News 1: “Robert Kraft visits Worcester to unveil new mobile addiction treatment clinic” by Devin Bates
• February 15, 2022 – AAMC: “As Drug Overdoses Soar, More Providers Embrace Harm Reduction” by Stacy Weiner
• April 30, 2021 – Boston Globe: “Kraft Opens Brockton Mobile Opioid Clinic” by Hiawatha Bray
• April 30, 2021 – The Enterprise: “Robert Kraft Helps Bring Health Care ‘To The People’ of Brockton with Mobile Addiction Unit” by Darvence Chery
• April 30, 2021 – 7 News WHDH: “Kraft Family Helps Fight Addiction with New Mobile Medical Center in Brockton” by Brynne Connolly
• September 25, 2020 – Mass General Press Release: “New Study Highlights Success of a Mobile Clinical and Outreach Van Helping People on the Street with Opioid Addiction” by McKenzie Ridings
• May 25, 2020 – Boston Globe Op-Ed: “Mobilizing Health Care During Coranvirus” by Elsie Taveras, Craig Regis, and Josh Kraft of The Kraft Center
• October 10, 2019 – WBUR: “Boston is Using a Chemical Warfare Device to Help Fight Fentanyl” by Martha Bebinger featuring Community Care in Reach® partners at AHOPE and RIZE Massachusetts
• August 22, 2019 – NPR′s Here & Now: “Opioid Treatment Van Makes Rounds in Boston” by Martha Bebinger
• June 12, 2019 – WBUR: “The Van Vs. An Opioid Addiction: Taking Treatment to the Streets” by Martha Bebinger
• January 9, 2018 – WBUR: “Mobile Health Van Aims To Treat Addiction On The Streets” by Deborah Becker
• January 9, 2018 – NBC 10 Boston: “Pats Owner Funds Opioid Addiction Service Van”
• January 9, 2018 – Boston Globe: “Kraft-Funded Van Will Bring Addiction Services to City Streets” by Jon Chesto

Mobile Addiction Services Toolkit

The Kraft Center has developed a Mobile Addiction Services Toolkit which provides a comprehensive overview of how to launch an operate a mobile addiction program following our Community Care in Reach® model. Included are sample protocols, best practices, and lessons learned over the course of our experiences with our own mobile health program. To access the toolkit, please click here.