Overview

The HOMES Specialty Clinics expand access to specialty medical care for individuals experiencing homelessness while providing medical students with meaningful, hands-on clinical education under the direct supervision of experienced physicians. Through partnerships with dedicated volunteer specialists, these clinics deliver compassionate, patient-centered care in fields that are often difficult to access for underserved populations.

Beyond treating disease, our specialty clinics emphasize continuity of care, patient education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and service to the Houston community. They also create unique opportunities for students to develop clinical skills, learn from expert faculty, and better understand the healthcare challenges faced by vulnerable populations.

Our Mission

The HOMES Specialty Clinics are committed to:

• Providing high-quality specialty care at no cost to patients experiencing homelessness.

• Improving access to services that are often limited by financial, transportation, or insurance barriers.

• Promoting continuity of care through coordinated follow-up and collaboration with primary care providers.

• Offering medical students meaningful, supervised clinical experiences that foster compassionate, service-oriented physicians.

• Building sustainable partnerships between volunteer faculty, students, and community organizations to improve health outcomes for underserved populations.

The HOMES Dermatology Clinic provides free specialty dermatologic care to individuals experiencing homelessness through a partnership with Dr. Susan Chon. The clinic focuses on diagnosing and treating common skin diseases, providing skin cancer screening, procedural dermatology exposure, patient education, and coordinating follow-up care for patients requiring ongoing treatment.

Students work directly with faculty in a collaborative environment while learning how dermatologic disease affects medically underserved populations.

Mission

• Increase access to specialty dermatologic care

• Improve early detection of skin cancer

• Provide treatment for common skin diseases

• Improve continuity of care

• Educate future physicians in caring for underserved populations

• Focused dermatologic history and skin examination

• Evaluation of common skin conditions

• Assessment of suspicious skin lesions

• Skin cancer screening when indicated

Services We Provide

The HOMES Ophthalmology Clinic provides comprehensive eye care for patients experiencing homelessness through a partnership with Dr. Chundru at the Caroline Street Clinic.

Students work directly alongside the attending physician, gaining experience in ophthalmic history-taking, basic eye examinations, patient education, and assisting with ophthalmic procedures while helping improve access to vision care for underserved populations.

Vision Assessment

• Comprehensive eye history

• Visual acuity assessment

• Evaluation of common eye complaints

• Basic ophthalmic examination

Eye Disease Screening

• Cataracts

• Glaucoma risk assessment

• Diabetic eye disease screening

• Dry eye disease

• Conjunctivitis

• Eyelid disorders

Medical Management