Refugee Health Access

Eager to begin anew, but struggling to navigate a challenging system, refugees need support accessing the U.S. health care system.

• Refugees typically come to the U.S. after many years of living in refugee camps, urban slums or rural areas with limited access to health care, food, clean water, and basic hygiene.
• Many refugees arrive with unmanaged, chronic health conditions, infectious diseases and/or other significant medical conditions or disabilities.
• Refugees also experience emotional trauma resulting from war, displacement, loss of loved ones and status, and often struggle with depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions. 

Services Provided:

• NSC’s refugee health access program connects newly arrived refugees with screening and ongoing primary care.
• Refugees receive ongoing support, through clinic liaisons, including escorts to initial screening appointments, scheduling and escort to needed lab, radiology, and specialist visit and referral to additional supports as needed.
• NSC leads the Philadelphia Refugee Health Collaborative.  Formed in September 2010, PRHC is a regional coalition of Philadelphia’s resettlement agencies and refugee health providers. PRHC’s core mission is to create an equitable system of refugee health care in the Philadelphia region that ensures a consistently high standard of care for all refugees. The Collaborative has the capacity to provide domestic health screenings, primary care (including newborn, pediatrics, adult medicine, geriatric, obstetric and gynecologic care) and access to laboratory, radiology and subspecialty services to ~ 850 newly arrived refugees each year. 

Key Facts:

• NSC’s refugee health program serves 400 newly arrived refugees annually, providing support for over 2,000 health care appointments.