Our Approach

The Yale Refugee Program provides a medical home for refugees arriving in the Greater New Haven area and promotes clinical innovation, education, and research in refugee health care.

We partner with other health clinics in New Haven when refugees need access to services beyond NHPCC. The Connecticut Mental Health Center through the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has been a consistent partner. Some private providers and YNHH-affiliated clinics also offer services to refugees.

Besides providing direct clinical care to refugees in New Haven, we created a forum for health care providers across Connecticut to promote communication. We organize a yearly half-day refugee health conference that brings together trainees and providers to share clinical and research innovations.

Our institutional and community partnerships include:

• Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC)
• Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addictions Services (DMHAS)
• Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS)

Our program screens refugees for mental health problems during the first and subsequent visits. Refugees that are identified as having potential mental health issues are triaged into different levels and types of care based on the severity and nature of their psychiatric condition. Some refugees are referred to the behavioral health team at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, some receive care at CMHC, and some are treated by their primary care physicians