When it’s time to save a limb, novel clinic meets unhoused people where they are

Article excerpt

A Massachusetts General Hospital vascular surgeon confronted a stark reality on a Saturday clinic visit: Carlton Haynes, unhoused, had an infected shin wound that could cost him his leg without immediate intervention. Anahita Dua runs an unusual clinic designed to meet homeless patients where they are, preventing amputations before limb loss becomes inevitable. The program addresses a crisis largely invisible in mainstream medicine: unhoused people face dramatically higher amputation rates due to untreated vascular disease, infected wounds, and lack of access to preventive care. By combining aggressive early treatment with wraparound social support, Mass General is testing whether meeting patients in their communities, rather than waiting for them to navigate hospital systems, can preserve limbs and lives.