NEW ORLEANS — Dr. Elyse Stevens had a reputation for taking on complex medical cases, including people who’d been battling addiction for decades. Some were chronic-pain patients on high doses of opioids; others were sex workers and people living on the street.
“Many of my patients are messy, the ones that don’t know if they want to stop using drugs or not,” said Stevens, a primary care and addiction medicine doctor.
While other doctors avoided these patients, Stevens — who was familiar with New Orleans from her time in medical school at Tulane University — sought them out. She regularly attended 6 a.m. breakfasts for homeless people, volunteered at a homeless shelter clinic on Saturdays, and, on Monday evenings, visited an abandoned Family Dollar store where advocates distributed supplies to people who use drugs.
Award-winning care
One such evening about four years ago, Charmyra Harrell arrived there limping, her right leg swollen and covered in sores. Emergency room doctors had repeatedly dismissed her, so Harrell said she eased the pain with street drugs…