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A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 29 augusT 2024
Health insurance providers to fund street doctors and clinics to

serve LA’s homeless population

By EUGENE GARCIA and campus expected to open
JANIE HAR in 2025.
Associated Press “We’re putting up extend-
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A ed hours for specialty care,
public agency and private extended hours for more
health insurance provider urgent services,” Amin said.
are teaming up to build On Tuesday, a mobile
a system of street doctors health care team from
and clinics that will provide Wesley Health Centers
medical care to Los Ange- rolled through Skid Row,
les’ homeless population, passing tents, tarps and
including routine preven- people stretched out on
tive medicine, officials an- blankets. The team offered
nounced Wednesday. HIV and STD testing, psychi-
The goal is for homeless atric services, and referrals
residents to see primary for other care, such as den-
care physicians long term, tal and vision, said Marie
rather than sporadically McAfee, director of opera-
through visits from resource- tions for Wesley health. She
strapped street medicine said they can see between
teams that struggle to 50 to 100 patients in a day.
make follow-up appoint- Norma Terrazas, 46, appre-
ments or ensure patients ciates that the clinic comes
receive their prescriptions, A homeless person walks past Wesley Health Centers’ mobile clinic in the Skid Row area of Los to her. She had her blood
said Dr. Sameer Amin, chief Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. pressure checked.
medical officer of L.A. Care Associated Press “This is Skid Row and we
Health Plan, a Los Angeles ple. More than 10% of all has had cascading effects will go toward beefing up need help. We need all
County agency that pro- homeless people in the U.S. on drug overdose deaths, the field medicine program the help we can get,” she
vides health insurance for live in the county, accord- especially from the synthet- throughout the county, said. “They make sure that
low-income individuals. ing to a 2023 federal count. ic opioid fentanyl. bringing services to resi- our health is OK, our bod-
Officials with L.A. Care In the city of Los Angeles, The tally of unhoused peo- dents who live in encamp- ies are strong and that we

Health Plan and Health more than 45,000 people ple in the city of about 4 ments, shelters or in tem- can withstand anything
Net, a U.S. health care in- many suffering from serious million, one of the nation’s porary housing. The rest of right now.” Martha Santa-
surance provider, said they mental illness, substance largest, is about equal to the money will bolster ser- na-Chin of Health Net said
will commit $90 million from addictions or both live in the population of Palm vices on Skid Row, a noto- she’s excited about the
the state over five years to litter-strewn encampments Springs. The providers say rious section of downtown possibility of more cardiol-
the effort. LA County is the and where rows of rusting they hope to serve as many Los Angeles with sprawling ogy, orthopedic and other
nation’s most populous, RVs line entire blocks. The as 85,000 homeless people. homeless encampments. specialty care for people in
with about 10 million peo- spread of homelessness Of the money, $60 million It includes a new health Skid Row. q

Former police officer accused of killing pregnant girlfriend and

staging it as a suicide

By STEVE LeBLANC and Associated Press Massachusetts police of- Birchmore was 23 years old his authority and access to
NICK PERRY BOSTON (AP) — A former ficer pleaded not guilty at the time. groom, sexually exploit and
Wednesday to charges of Farwell killed Birchmore to then sexually abuse Birch-
killing a woman he is ac- prevent authorities from more when she was 15 and
cused of sexually exploiting finding out details of his that he continued to have
when she was underage sexual offenses, according sex with her when she be-
and then trying to stage to allegations in the indict- came an adult.
the death as a suicide after ment. In late 2020, Birchmore
she told him she was preg- Farwell worked as an of- found out she was preg-
nant. ficer for the police depart- nant and told Farwell, ac-
Matthew Farwell entered ment in Stoughton, south cording to the indictment.
the plea during an initial of Boston, for 10 years, from The next month, a friend
appearance in federal 2012 until 2022. It wasn’t im- of Birchmore’s called the
court in Boston. He was mediately clear why he left Stoughton Police Depart-
handcuffed and led out of the department. ment to tell them Farwell
the room. A follow-up court Birchmore began partici- had been having sex
hearing was scheduled for pating in the police explor- with Birchmore. Farwell
Oct. 17. ers program when she was strangled Birchmore on
Farwell was indicted this 12 years old, according to about Feb. 1, 2021, and
Acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
Joshua Levy, right, takes questions from reporters as FBI Assistant week on charges he stran- the indictment in U.S. Dis- then staged her apart-
Special Agent in Charge Stephen Kelleher, left, looks on during gled Sandra Birchmore in trict Court in Massachusetts. ment to make it look as
a news conference Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Boston, held early 2021 after she told Court documents say that though she had died by
to announce the arrest of former Stoughton Police Detective him that she was pregnant Farwell, who was a police suicide, according to the
Matthew Farwell on murder charges. and he was the father. explorers volunteer, used indictment.q
Associated Press