About Us

The Street Medicine Team’s Low-Barrier Buprenorphine program fits into an overall strategy to expand access to buprenorphine for heroin and opioid users in San Francisco.

Buprenorphine can be started in the emergency room or as an inpatient at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, at the outpatient buprenorphine induction center, or at a primary care clinic in the San Francisco Health Network, a system of top-rated clinics, hospitals and programs operated by the Health Department.

In addition to treatment options, harm reduction has been a long-standing and successful strategy in San Francisco to improve health and save lives. The City provides access to clean syringe and needles to prevent the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, reducing new infections and transmissions. The naloxone (Narcan) program has kept overdose fatalities low for years by putting the power to reverse overdoses into the hands of people who use drugs and their friends and families, as well as first responders and physicians.

The Street Medicine Team provides multidisciplinary care by professional and peer staff highly knowledgeable in harm reduction, low-barrier medication for addiction treatment (MAT) and working with the target population. Services are offered in a centrally located open access clinic, syringe access sites, navigation centers, encampment health fairs, and street outreach.

Members of the Street Medicine Team and community partners

Team Roles

Charge Nurse
Our charge nurse is the central nervous system underlying all our operations. Behind the scenes, they keep all parts moving. They maintain and develop relationships with partners in the community.
Health Workers
Our health workers are key to our outreach efforts and day-to-day care, connecting our patients with the rest of our team and our partner services. They are often our patients’ first interaction with our program.
Registered Nurses
Our nurses are crucial to providing care on the streets, in our clinic, and on-site at our partner locations. They are responsible for the overall quality improvement and medicine maintenance.
 
Waivered Providers
Our team has four waivered providers, our medical director, family nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse practitioner, and psychiatrist. As waivered providers, they are authorized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to prescribe buprenorphine.
Managing Physician
Our medical director is both on the ground providing care for our patients and in City Hall advocating for our team.
Program Manager
Our program manager coordinates the internal day-to-day operations from maintaining schedules to managing resources such as transport and additional office needs across the program.

In the News​