Volunteers in Medicine of
New Hampshire
(VIM-NH)

TOGETHER WE HEAL

First NH Gives event for VIM-NH 6/6-6/7

Happy spring! Thank you so much for reading our May Newsletter. Volunteers in Medicine of New Hampshire (VIM-NH) is a non-profit free clinic whose mission is to provide free healthcare to uninsured and underinsured families of New Hampshire.

Currently, we are partnering with Cross Roads House shelter in Portsmouth to operate evening clinics twice a month, run by volunteer clinicians. This month, we began street medicine outreach to homeless encampments in partnership with the City of Rochester.

NH Gives

NH Gives is an initiative of the NH Center for Nonprofits, which is a powerful, statewide 24-hour online fundraising event that is designed to build community, connect donors to local nonprofits and generate excitement about the nonprofit sector. VIM-NH is thrilled to participate in NH Gives for the first time!

Help make our very first NH Gives event a success and help us reach our goal of raising $10,000 in 24 hours. We are a very small nonprofit organization run 100% by volunteers; hence, we do not have paid staff working on fundraising or grant writing. It is all done by a small group of dedicated volunteers. Every opportunity to raise funds is vital to continue our mission in our state.

We will send you a link soon to our NH Gives page. Thank you so much for your support!

Medical Director's Corner

VIM-NH Founder Dr. Johnson

What is Street Medicine?

“Street medicine” refers to medical care, aimed primarily at people experiencing homelessness, that takes place outside the walls of a clinic. In many situations, medical providers wear a backpack with supplies and go out on foot to visit patients in homeless encampments. Based on discussions from experienced outreach workers, this process requires a lot of trust and relationship-building.

Many patients are not open to care by volunteer providers initially, as these patients do not trust doctors, based on past negative experiences with the medical system. Through repeated interactions with outreach workers and medical volunteers over time, street medicine helps to bridge the gap between unsheltered patients in need of care and those willing to provide support.

Dr. Peter Degnan, a long-time family physician in the Seacoast and still an active flight surgeon, had his first two street medicine ‘shifts’ in Rochester on May 16th & 30th. Talks with Erin Nasino, Rochester’s Community Outreach Facilitator, began a few months ago and culminated in our new collaboration. For many years, outreach workers have been visiting homeless encampments and noticing needs for medical care, especially related to skin and wound infections. VIM-NH was excited to take this opportunity to bring care to locations where they are needed and to improve access to care for unsheltered patients.

Meet our new VIM-NH Team Members

Peter Degnan, MD

Mentioned above in the article about street medicine, Dr. Degnan is a family physician who has been working for decades in the NH community which included Lamprey Health and UNH. We really appreciate his flexibility and willingness to try new ways to meet patient's needs, and we are looking forward to building bridges with the patient community at Rochester.

Welcome Dr. Degnan!

Meet Mary Malloy, RN

Mary Malloy is an experienced nurse who is currently working part-time at Healthcare for the Homeless at CMC in Manchester. She has also been diligently trekking to Portsmouth to complete several shifts on Tuesday nights at Cross Roads House. She is warm, compassionate, and the perfect fit for the VIM-NH clinic.

Welcome Mary!

EJ Murphy

EJ reached out to VIM-NH in January, very interested in volunteering. He is a pre-med student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, and he sure does know how to tackle projects! He is responsible for creating the dental resource document after calling dozens of dentist offices in the New England area. He then compiled a detailed list of clinics accepting new patients, which many of us hand out to patents. He then moved on to contact numerous potential donors for grants or corporate sponsorships.

A volunteer-run organization like VIM-NH absolutely needs productive and motivated volunteers like EJ! Thank you!

Girls in Action Exeter Donates $400 to VIM-NH

We would like to thank Girls in Action, Exeter chapter for their generous donation to VIM-NH. GIA was started in 2004 as a youth branch of the Exeter Area General Federation of Women's Clubs (EAGFWC). GIA is a positive and friendly environment for girls to branch out into their community, reflect a positive outlook and lifestyle, and become a role model for the public. The medical directors' two teen daughters, Naomi and Emma, participate in this wonderful community service organization.

Thank you for this donation!

Dr Nate Swanson to partner with VIM-NH to organize Dental Day of Giving

September 9th, 2023 is Free Dentistry Day across the country. Dr Nate Swanson, a private practitioner in Newmarket, has generously agreed to provide care for free that day and also take a leadership role to collaborate with NH Dental Society.

Dr Navpreet Judge, a dentist for Mascoma Community Health Center, has also agreed to volunteer on the day. These two dentists will help to recruit more providers in the state to take care of patients on 9/9/23.

We are still working on details of eligibility and logistics, so please keep reading our newsletters and help us recruit more dentists.

We thank you for your support!

Ways You Can Help

There are many ways you can help VIM-NH, a 501(c)3 organization. You can volunteer in many capacities, spread the word through social media, or start a fundraiser for us in your community. For more information please visit our website at vimnh.org or email rjohnson@vimnh.org.

Please donate here to help provide free healthcare to NH's families. Thank you!

Donate Now

Volunteers in Medicine of New Hampshire

PO Box 962

Newfields, NH 03856

Email: rjohnson@vimnh.org