Nearly 3,000 deaths are investigated by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office (KCMEO) every year. And for more than a decade, the Medical Examiner has partnered with the Health Care for the Homeless program to research and identify which of those people were presumed to be experiencing homelessness.
“We do this work to help the community both pay attention and remember. When people are remembered, they are treated with more dignity,” said John Gilvar, program manager for Health Care for the Homeless, which is part of Public Health—Seattle & King County.
As the Insider reported last summer, there has been an unusual increase in the number of HIV infections among people who inject drugs in King County. A new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report article describes the increase in detail, and we summarize some of the key findings below: In 2018, a total of 30 women […]
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is seeking the public’s help to identify a person who died in King County, and is releasing a sketch of the individual to assist. The unidentified person was presumed to be homeless and found dead outdoors on January 12, 2019 in the 700 block of 1st Street, Kirkland. The cause […]
Each year, World AIDS Day is a chance to take note of our successes, on-going challenges and opportunities responding to the HIV epidemic. World AIDS Day this year is December 1st. While the news is good in important areas, there are troubling issues as well. We sat down with Dr. Matthew Golden, MD, HIV/STD Control […]
In a first-of-its-kind effort, King County hospitals reached out to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth and young adults to learn about their experiences with healthcare. King County Hospitals for a Healthier Community, which is a collaborative of 11 hospitals and health systems, joined with Public Health – Seattle & King […]
You have probably heard about the hepatitis A outbreaks occurring around the country. These outbreaks primarily have affected people living homeless or unsheltered, or people who inject drugs. Although conditions that would facilitate a large hepatitis A outbreak exist locally, we have not had an outbreak among persons experiencing homelessness or who use injection drugs […]
