Health Services

Providing medical, dental, and behavioral health services to our most at-risk neighbors.

FCAP_color_wide 1-01
NAFC 2023 Gold

Individualized Care

Our Approach

Water Street Health Services offers uninsured, underinsured, and people experiencing homelessness in Lancaster County free medical, dental, and behavioral health services. Each day our team works to create individualized solutions that will have a lasting impact on our patients health, ultimately giving patients the tools they need to pursue their life goals.

To ensure those who are most at need are able to get critical care, we serve those with an income up to 250% of poverty level. We want those who are most vulnerable to find hope for a healthy future and support in conquering each health battle, no matter how large or small.

Join us in our efforts by partnering your time as a volunteer. We have individual, group, seasonal and healthcare opportunities available. Full time and volunteer dentists are currently greatly needed. 

water-street-236

How We Serve Lancaster County...

water-street-228

Medical Services

Quality over Quantity

In our Water Street Health Services facilities, doctors and nurses get to spend as much time with a patient as they need, as many of our patients have gone years without any medical help. We also aim to educate so that we can create sustainable solutions to their health issues, not just a cycle of treatment. The goal is not just lots of appointments but meaningful and long-lasting improvements to physical health and overall wellbeing. If you or someone you know may benefit from these services, please don’t delay in exploring our Get Help section.

Behavioral Health Services

Creating Lasting Mental Health Solutions

Behavioral health is key to giving patients the tools they need at Water Street Health Services. We utilize these tools to set our patients on a path of hope, with greater confidence, and the ability to overcome obstacles in their lives. Our team of professional behavioral health specialists meet one-on-one with guests and also teach courses on wellness for long-term mental health management.

water-street-233
water-street-230

Dental Services

Renewing Smiles

Part of Water Street Health Services, our dental clinic is where both patients experiencing homelessness and low-income members of the community come to undergo dental restorations, helping to renew their smiles, confidence, and overall health. Patients also receive teaching and supplies to help them maintain dental hygiene between visits.

“They helped me turn my life around. And the support you get from staff is just unbelievable. They love you with open arms and they’re straightforward and upfront and tell you how it is.”
Gary, Health Services Patient

Stories of Lives Changed through Health Services

Experiencing Renewal

Health-wsm-007

The Renewal of Louisa

Louisa came to Water Street after a tragedy in her life left her without a place to live. She was paired with a Life Coach and a Case Manager, and the three worked as a team to discover a few key medical needs in Louisa’s life. She gained free access to doctors, nurses, dental hygienists and behavioral health specialists to help manage her depression, diabetes and oral health. Her medical visits were more than she expected. “You could have the greatest doctors in the world, but because everything is so professional, they can’t go beyond it [and pray with a patient].

When you are going through something, you need the spiritual,” said Louisa as she credits her progress to praying with the medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare staff at Water Street.

Health-wsm-005

The Renewal of a Couple

Kim and Mark came to Water Street as a last option. Medical challenges and lost wages caused the married couple to lose their home. “When we came to Water Street I was embarrassed,” explained Mark. “I felt hopeless.”

“Our lives felt like scrambled eggs. Everything was out of control,” describes Kim. The medical staff and volunteers at Water Street Health Services provided the quality care needed to enable physical and mental healing. The couple was connected to one of the Mission’s partners, Tabor Community Services (now known as Tenfold), and walked through the steps of the Rapid Re-Housing Program.

Today Mark and Kim are settled in their new home and hope to one day pay it forward to others who find themselves in a similar season of homelessness.

Health-wsm-006

The Renewal of Deborah

Deborah arrived at Water Street after a long battle with depression. “I found that I was just not myself anymore. My pride kept me from admitting that I needed help,” she said. After taking a cocktail of prescription drugs in an attempt to end her life, Deborah woke up in a hospital bed a week later. She realized her life wasn’t meant to end. With nowhere else to go, she took a cab to Water Street Mission.

Deborah received dental, medical, and behavioral health care while at Water Street from our Water Street Health Services ministry. She was able to become physically and spiritually well—and because of her renewal she was able to move into her own apartment and got connected with a local church where she volunteers regularly. Life is meant to be lived, and Deborah is living it!

Health-wsm-004_v2

The Renewal of Sheila

After spending most of her life working as a caretaker for the developmentally disabled, straining to lift residents took its toll on Sheila. That’s when a major injury led her down the road to opioid addiction.

But even while conquering addiction, chronic pain left Sheila barely walking by the time she came to Water Street Health Services. At Water Street, doctors quickly helped Sheila more safely manage her pain and find the source of her injury, finally receiving a much-needed hip replacement. 

“Now I can get around, and I don’t want to seek anything else, I want to be clean” she says.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Support our work.

Water Street Health Services has helped provide critical dental, medical, and behavioral health care for tens of thousands of individuals and families over the past 30+ years.

Be a part of the rescue and renewal happening every day. Become a volunteer.