KINGSTON, R.I. — March 31, 2025 — A medical professional dedicated to the health of some of the most marginalized members of society will deliver the keynote address at a University of Rhode Island Department of Public Health symposium on April 7.

Dr. James O’Connell, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and president of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, will discuss the challenges of providing medical care to homeless populations in his address, “Continuity within Chaos: Caring for Individuals Living Chronically in Shelters and on the Streets.” The event is scheduled for April 7, 5:30 p.m. in room 170 of Avedisian Hall on the URI Kingston Campus.

O’Connell, who received his medical degree from Harvard University in 1982 and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, has made a career advocating for the health of unhoused people. In 1985, he began full-time clinical work with homeless individuals as the founding physician of Boston Health Care for the Homeless. He established the nation’s first medical respite program in 1985, with 25 beds nested within the Lemuel Shattuck Shelter in Boston, and designed and implemented the first computerized medical record for a homeless program. He went on to serve as the national program director of the Homeless Families Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

O’Connell, editor of The Health Care of Homeless Persons: A Manual of Communicable Diseases and Common Problems in Shelters and on the Streets, is a prolific writer, whose articles have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the American Journal of Public Health, and several other medical journals. His first book, Stories from the Shadows: Reflections of a Street Doctor, details 30 years of caring for people experiencing homelessness in Boston, and “gently illuminates the humanity and raw courage of those who struggle to survive and find meaning and hope while living on the streets.” His work was the subject of the New York Times Best Seller, Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People by noted author Tracy Kidder.

The symposium on April 7 marks the beginning of URI’s celebration of National Public Health Week, an initiative organized by the American Public Health Association to develop annual campaigns and resources that educate the public, policymakers, and practitioners on the critical importance of public health, recognize public health contributions, and address key health issues.

“We have a series of great events for National Public Health Week, hosted by the department in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, as well as university and community partners, to promote physical and mental health,” said Molly Greaney, professor and chair of the Public Health department. “Public health graduates are participating in career-related events: the ‘Exercise Is Medicine Club’ is leading walks; URI Health Promotion is sponsoring Wellness Workshops; the College of Pharmacy is hosting Narcan training; and the College of Health Sciences is supporting CPR training, among other initiatives.”