Munson Receives $2.5 Million Grant to Expand Street Medicine

Munson Medical Center announced on November 18, 2025 that the Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $2.5 million to fund a five year Rural Street Medicine Residency Expansion Project. The award is one of 24 nationwide of this type and will support development and implementation of a street medicine focused curriculum within Munson’s Family Medicine Residency Program in partnership with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. The program aims to prepare primary care physicians to provide care in mobile medical units, shelter based clinics and encampment outreach to people experiencing homelessness and other complex care environments.

Key elements of the project include expanded research capacity to evaluate outcomes, creation of an advisory board that will include people with lived experience of homelessness, and integration of core clinical competencies into residency training. Those competencies will include primary care, behavioral health with psychiatric medication stabilization, addiction medicine including initiation and induction of medications for opioid use disorder, and medical legal advocacy and partnerships. Residents will be required to spend roughly 5 to 8 clinical hours per month in street medicine settings as part of their training.

Locally the initiative will support work in Benzonia, Cadillac, Rapid City and Traverse City and builds on a street medicine partnership launched in 2020 between Munson, Traverse Health Clinic and Goodwill Industries. Munson noted that the local street medicine effort provided about 1,000 visits from roughly 400 unique Traverse City patients so far this year and that the program has previously received recognition including the AHA Dick Davidson NOVA Award. That track record gives the project a practical foundation while offering a training pipeline aimed at rural health needs.

For Grand Traverse County residents the grant could mean more consistent access to primary and behavioral health care for people who face barriers to clinic based services. Street medicine services can reduce reliance on emergency departments, improve chronic disease management and support continuity of care for people with complex social needs. The inclusion of people with lived experience on the advisory board signals an emphasis on community voice and trauma informed approaches, which may strengthen trust and uptake among populations that have historically faced stigma and exclusion.

Policy implications extend beyond the county. Federal investment in rural street medicine training highlights the growing recognition of homelessness as a public health issue that intersects with mental health and substance use. Sustainability will depend on follow up funding streams, payer policies that support mobile and shelter based care, and local collaborations to link clinical care with housing, legal and social services. As the program rolls out, county health officials, community organizations and health systems will need to coordinate to ensure that expanded clinical capacity translates into equitable and lasting improvements in health for Grand Traverse County residents who need care the most.