POCATELLO — Doctor Georgia Milan has assumed the mantle of being the personal physician to the city's vulnerable homeless population amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday morning, Milan, who was named medical director of Pocatello Free Clinic in January, offered to perform weekly health screenings of homeless people housed in tight quarters at the local Aid for Friends shelter.

Additionally, at Milan's suggestion, Southeastern Idaho Public Health agreed to send personnel to provide additional health checkups at the homeless shelter twice per week.

The City of Pocatello, the State of Idaho and the nation have all issued disaster declarations in response to the spread of a highly contagious and deadly novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19. Officials with Idaho Public Health had confirmed 26 coronavirus cases as of Friday evening, with a recent case reported in Bingham County.

"If one of these people should contract it, there’s no way one can isolate. There's no way anyone can keep all of the light switches germ free," Milan said. "We say keep 6 feet from one another, and they’re lucky to have 18 inches."

As of Thursday, Aid for Friends, 653 S. Fourth Ave., was slightly over capacity with 39 residents living in the shelter, including 15 single men and eight children. Executive Director BJ Stensland said the organization has closed its doors to visitors and has stopped allowing people who aren't current residents from using its laundromat and showers, or coming to the shelter for donations of hygiene products, diapers and other essentials. Case management services have also been discontinued.

"We are going to have to monitor and watch our supplies," Stensland said. "And we don't want people coming in and out."

Normally, Aid for Friends closes sleeping areas and bedrooms during the day, forcing guests to socialize in common areas or to head into the community and search for work. The approach helps them stay productive and avoid depression, Stensland said.

In light of coronavirus, Stensland said that policy has been reversed, with sleeping quarters unlocked during the day and guests encouraged to stay isolated at the shelter.

Stensland said Aid for Friends may also temporarily waive its policy of limiting stays to 90 days and requiring at least 90 days to elapse between stays.

At a hectic and gloomy time, Stensland said she received a "phenomenal, wonderful" offer from Milan. The local doctor showed up the next day to take temperatures of all of the shelter's residents, explaining the vast majority of people infected with coronavirus also run a high temperature. The shelter had no thermometers, and it took Milan the better part of a day to track one down, given that consumers had depleted area retailers of many items deemed essential.

"You have no idea how much that call meant to me," Stensland said.

Stensland said the shelter hopes to obtain N95 respirator masks to be assigned to any resident whose temperature tests above 100.8 degrees.

Milan was moved when she met a grandmother with six young children sharing a room on her initial day of tending to residents at the shelter.

"(Coronavirus) is especially bad news for homeless people because they don't have the resources. They're not able to access healthcare, they're not able to isolate and they're not able to get the medication they need," Milan said. "Just being homeless, they're in poor nutrition, their immune systems are poor, there's a lot of stress involved, and the uncertainty of life's basic needs, which are housing and food and compassion."

Milan's daughter, Genevieve Schroeder, recently made a large batch of protective masks to donate to Aid for Friends. Milan plans to make 20 more to add to the donation during the next few days.

Milan has devoted her career to working with vulnerable populations. During the past two years, she's made two trips to volunteer her medical services at Greek refugee camps. She still works for the Montana Migrant Council, which sometimes sends her to provide medical services at migrant camps in Montana and along the southern border.

For nearly eight months, Milan opened her Old Town Pocatello home to a family of refugees from Guatemala, who had been persecuted by gangs and had their lives threatened for having a transgender child.

At Pocatello Free Clinic, 1001 N. Seventh Ave., Suite 155, Milan anticipates her staff will soon start making some house calls to minimize patients' exposure to coronavirus.

"I don't mind at all making house calls," Milan said.

The clinic has already started handling many consultations and elective visits over the phone to ensure immune-compromised patients at the clinic aren't exposed. Furthermore, clinic staff have been speaking in public to educate people about the importance of self-isolation.

Nonprofits throughout the community face similar challenges in serving at-risk populations as Aid for Friends and the Pocatello Free Clinic, and most are implementing creative new policies and procedures to help their clients weather the health emergency.

Kevin Bailey, CEO of United Way of Southeasern Idaho, said his organization is partnering with the Idaho Nonprofit Center and the Idaho Community Fund in establishing a COVID-19 Emergency Fund. The fund will support efforts by organizations "working on the front lines" of the coronavirus response.

Donations may be made at idahocf.org/covid-19 and may be earmarked to benefit a specific region. The Blue Cross Foundation made the opening contribution of $100,000, Bailey said.

"We've been trying to rally the troops a little bit and try to figure out how we can best coordinate the programs United Way supports and figure out what the needs are," Bailey said.

United Way of Southeastern Idaho also recently sent out an outreach survey to its nonprofit partners asking them about anticipated needs and challenges posed by the pandemic.

The North Bingham County Food Bank, for example, has moved to drive-through food distribution.

The Bingham Crisis Center has closed its Community Closet, which distributes free clothing to people in need, for the foreseeable future.

The Area Agency on Aging, operating by the Southeastern Idaho Council of Governments, is evaluating options to make certain older adults receive at least one nutritious meal every day, in addition to regular welfare checks.

The Shelley Senior Center has closed. Though it's offering take-out meal orders, officials there are concerned about the lack of socialization for seniors and are evaluating methods to keep their spirits up while they isolate themselves.

In general, respondents said they need donations of hygiene products, toiletries and sanitizing products.

Officials with Court Appointed Special Advocates, which has offices to help victims of child abuse in Pocatello and Soda Springs, fear the stress of life with coronavirus will lead to more instances of abuse. Anticipating greater demand, the organization is developing online training programs to train new advocates.

Recent U.S. Department of Labor statistics suggest that demand for such nonprofit services are sure to grow as more Americans file for unemployment benefits as a result of coronavirus.

According to the department's March 19 report, seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims rose by 70,000 to 281,000 for the week ending March 14. The number represents the highest level for initial claims since Sept. 2, 2017, according to the report.

The report reads: "A number of states specifically cited COVID-19 related layoffs, while many state reported increased layoffs in service-related industries broadly and in the accommodation of food services industries specifically, as well as in the transportation and warehousing industry, whether COVID-19 was identified directly or not."