A quarterly newsletter for members of the Respite Care Providers' Network
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NIMRC Resource Highlights |
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New Behavioral Health Online Course Series |
We are excited to share that our online learning portal now offers a course series on addressing behavioral health within medical respite programs. This series includes the following courses:
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Courses 1 and 2 are introductory and required before completing courses 3 and 4, which provide tangible and in-depth strategies that can be implemented at a program or provider level to support those with behavioral health needs within programs. Additional existing courses related to behavioral health include Trauma Informed Care in MRC, The Role of the Behavioral Health Consultant, and Harm Reduction in MRC.
All courses are free, and only require the creation of a login to access. Those who complete the course also receive a certificate of completion.
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New Toolkit: Creating Care and Discharge Plans for People Experiencing Homelessness Who are Hospitalized |
This toolkit, developed for hospital providers and discharge planning teams, provides concrete resources to hospital staff to support the care and discharge planning process for patients who are unstably housed. The toolkit consists of a document summarizing our findings from several in-depth interviews with providers on the ground, in both hospital and community-based settings. In addition, there are videos and checklists for the providers, social work and discharge planning teams, Nurses, OTs and PTs.
We encourage medical respite programs to share the recorded webinar and toolkit with their hospital partners to improve the discharge planning process for those who are hospitalized and experiencing homelessness. (To access the toolkit via the link above, you'll need to use or create a free login to the Council's online learning portal!)
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Greetings and the most festive fall to the entire RCPN!
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Laurie Nelson, also known as Laurel (a child of hippy parents) to those who may have seen me at conference or in email lists. I am your newly appointed Chair of the Respite Care Providers' Network – Steering Committee. I was born and raised in Kentucky and have been with the Center for Respite Care in Cincinnati, where I have served staff and clients in the role of CEO for the past 10 years.
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When I began my journey with the Center for Respite Care (the Center), I knew very little about care, treatment and services to individuals experiencing homelessness. But I was excited and eager to learn as much as possible to ensure that the Center and its clients were not only successful but thriving. I was fortunate to have an excellent partner, with the same desires, in our physician, Dr. Bob Donovan. He introduced me to the National Healthcare for the Homeless Council and suggested that I investigate the Respite Care Providers Network. To this day, I am so grateful for this guidance.
Fast forward to 2024, having earned the privilege to lead the Steering Committee and participate in our 3-year strategic planning process, the strength and commitment of the Committee to Respite and Recuperative Care Providers across the nation has never been stronger.
The strength of your Steering Committee includes the following areas of expertise:
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Hospital partnerships: 10 members
- Operations and policy and procedures: 10 members
- Medical/clinical care and issues: 9 members
- Behavioral health: 7 members
- Community/partnership buy in: 7 members
- Harm reduction: 7 members
- Starting a medical respite program: 6 members
- Funding and financing: 5 members
- Health center operated medical respite: 5 members
- Policy: 5 members
- End of life care: 4 members
- Housing: 4 members
- Shelter operated medical respite: 4 members
- Medicaid/Medicaid funding: 3 members
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With the guidance and support of the NHCHC medical respite team, the strategic plan was carefully crafted to provide even greater assistance and resources to you! Some highlights of the plan include:
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Creating new resources for Respite and Recuperative Programs, at every stage of development in education, advocacy and networking.
- Helping programs with identifying and securing sustainable funding.
- Updating the defining characteristics of Medical Respite and Recuperative Care programs.
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Updating the standard operating procedures of the Committee.
- Disrupting the cycle of homelessness.
- And so much more!
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We hope to see you all at our next all-member meeting on Nov. 20 at 2:30 p.m. CST, where we will continue to discuss and work on our plan as well as hear from others within the Council about advocacy opportunities and national updates.
Laurel D. Nelson
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In the July edition of Respite News, we incorrectly listed the location of Joseph and Mary’s Home, which is located in Cleveland, not Cincinnati. We apologize for any confusion caused by the error.
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Dr. Goetcheus, founder of Christ House (one of the first medical respite facilities in the country), died Oct. 26, leaving behind a profound legacy of selfless service to others.
Christ House welcomed its first patient on Christmas Eve 1985 and has provided care for more than 10,000 patients in the past four decades. Learn more about Dr. Goetcheus's legacy here.
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More than 250 recuperative care and medical respite providers, advocates, and partners gathered in Sacramento Sept. 12-13 for the inaugural California Recuperative Care Symposium!
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| National Health Care for the Homeless Council CEO Bobby Watts (right) kicks off the opening plenary of CRCS2024. To his right are Julia Dobbins of NHCHC, Susan Philip of the California Department of Health Care Services, and Vanessa Davis of Kaiser Permanente.
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Celebrating California’s Innovations in Recuperative Care Services |
A monumental event for the field of recuperative care, more than 250 attendees convened for the inaugural 2024 California Recuperative Care Symposium on September 12 and 13 in Sacramento, CA. Hosted by the Council and sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, this groundbreaking gathering featured over 60 presenters--top experts in the field sharing innovative program models and their best practices in recuperative care services, CalAIM implementation, and collaborative partnerships in California, aligning with this year's theme “Cross-Organizational Solutions for a Seamless System of Care.”
In addition to the sessions, recuperative care providers, hospitals, managed care plans and other partners in housing and health from all over the state enjoyed the Symposium's opening reception, keynote speakers, a site visit to Wellspace Recuperative Care Center, and the presentation of the first "Trailblazer in California Recuperative Care" award to Sandra Maple-Deaver of the Gospel Center Rescue Mission. Thank you to our amazing sponsors, exhibitors and attendees for making this a truly memorable event!
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| Michelle Schneidermann of the California Health Care Foundation gives the closing keynote speech of CRCS2024 on Sept. 13.
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Julia Gaines and Julia Dobbins of the medical respite team.
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| The symposium convened advocates and employees from more than 50 California health centers looking to learn more about recuperative care excellence.
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| The respite team is so grateful we got to meet so many recuperative care champions from across California!
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Respite Kudos and Accomplishments |
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Circle the City’s Associate Medical Director, Fartun Jama, PA-C, MSPAS, has been awarded the William H. Marquardt Community Health Access Fellowship. This recognition highlights Fartun's dedication to serving individuals experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County.
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Eric M. Ossowski, MD, an assistant clinical professor of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, was named one of Phoenix Business Journal's 2024 Health Care Heroes.
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NHCHC's Respite Care Provider’s Network is among the 2024 recipients of the Transformation Award from The Center for Respite Care. The section on the RCPM starts at timestamp 9:27.
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Preble Street, an innovative recuperative care program, celebrated its second anniversary in September, marking two years of serving people with its first-of-its-kind model of care for Maine.
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Activities and Opportunities |
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The upcoming Housing Needs Learning Collaborative is open to medical respite programs and health centers. The focus will be on building program capacity and partnerships to meet specific needs of people transitioning housing situations. You can apply for participation starting Nov. 11; be on the lookout for additional communications on how to apply.
The Learning Collaborative sessions will occur bi-weekly in January and February 2025.
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RCPN All Member Meeting on Wednesday November 20th at 2 p.m. Central |
Please join us for the next RCPN All Member Meeting on Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. CST.
All Member Meetings provide an opportunity to join together with other medical respite program providers and administrators to discuss key issues affecting medical respite care. We will provide updates on NIMRC, resources, and policy issues. This will be followed by a short presentation and large group discussion on current issues affecting the field, where attendees have the opportunity to connect with each other, share experiences, and learn insights from other programs.
This All Member Meeting will discuss providing transportation within medical respite care programs. Transportation is a key component of all medical respite programs, as it enables individuals to access medical care and community resources needed to address health and housing needs. However, there is not a clear-cut way to provide transportation, and community resources can vary in their reliability and affordability. This discussion will highlight how programs currently provide transportation, and resources to support programs in meeting this essential aspect of care.
Register Here
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December Role-Specific Meetups |
Funding a Medical Respite Program Virtual Symposium |
Jan. 29, 12-4 p.m. CST
More information and registration coming soon
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Providence Health and Services celebrated its new permanent supportive housing and recuperative care facility during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in July. Q’et’en Qenq’a, meaning Elder’s House in the Dena’ina language, is for people ages 55 and older who are experiencing homelessness. The Anchorage facility includes 45 permanent supportive housing units along with six recuperative care units. This article provides an update on how Providence House has been doing since opening.
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San Diego’s County Behavioral Health Services has been awarded $12.4 million in state funding for bridge housing. The funds will be used to create 49 new recuperative care beds for people who are experiencing homelessness and have a behavioral health condition. The new beds will be located within a County-owned facility and in community-based providers’ facilities that are contracted with the County.
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A U.S. Supreme Court decision in July gave municipalities more authority to clear out encampments and an order from California’s Governor Gavin Newsom encouraged them to do so. “We’re going to do the same thing we’ve been doing, which is send out caseworkers, send out social workers, try to get people into shelter, into recuperative care, reconnected with family members, all of the things we’re doing to get people under a roof,” said Katrina Foley, the supervisor of Orange County.
- Shasta Community Heath Center’s medical respite program in Redding is expanding, and the Heartman House now has 15 beds. Residents may stay up to 90 days and the program utilizes CalAIM funding. (recording on respite begins at timestamp 3:20)
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Officials with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) announced this month that eight Community Care Expansion (CCE) program grants totaling $112.8 million in funding have been awarded to new housing projects across the state. These grants provide for the acquisition, rehabilitation, and construction of adult and senior care facilities as well as other community-based residential care settings, such as permanent supportive housing and recuperative care sites.
- Horizon Healthcare San Diego is announcing the grand opening a new recuperative care facility, made possible by partnerships with Oxford Health Group and Top Medical Mobility. The facility provides a full spectrum of services, including mental health support, transportation, and life skills training.
- Construction has begun for Harvey West Studios in Santa Cruz, a planned 120-unit apartment building aimed at housing individuals with serious medical conditions. Housing Matters will be the owner-operator of this project which will include recuperative care beds and plans to open in the summer of 2026.
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Victorville officials announced that the city has been awarded $6.3 million in Encampment Resolution Funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to tackle homelessness. The city will use the grant funds for enhanced street outreach, interim housing solutions, rapid re-housing, and downtown Wellness Center operations. The Wellness Center is a low-barrier, non-congregate emergency shelter and recuperative care facility.
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Michelle Schneidermann, Director of People-Centered Care for the California Health Care Foundation, wrote an article on her experience working to improve care for people experiencing homelessness who have complex behavioral health and medical conditions. She shares her perspective on state-wide changes and collaborations that have been made especially in the last few years, and how changes within CalAIM improve access to recuperative care.
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In Santa Barbara, the Good Samaritan Shelter is one of several nonprofit organizations CenCal Health is partnering with as part of the state funded CalAIM initiative to help individuals facing social challenges that affect their health. Sobering centers, recuperative care programs, and housing transition and navigation services will be included. The initiative is meant to expand support for those with Medi-Cal by including social services alongside traditional medical care.
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The Playbook for Complex Discharges is designed for leadership and frontline staff at organizations managing complex discharges from acute hospitals or skilled nursing facilities in California. It offers actionable recommendations for effective coordination, collaboration, and partnership at both the patient level and the system level.
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RecoveryWorks in Lakewood, Colorado provides medical respite services to people experiencing homelessness who can stay for up to thirty days. James Ginsburg, executive director of RecoveryWorks, says “We’re really trying to collaborate with the current service providers in Jefferson County but also build out a more robust rehousing infrastructure.” This article discusses their program, and also highlights the benefits of medical respite in general.
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Rocky Mountain Refuge in Denver provides shelter for unhoused individuals approaching the end of life as well as a continuum of care. Services include personal care, assistance with daily activities of life, nonmedical and caregiving support, and pain, symptom and medication management. Individuals can receive clinical care visits one or twice weekly, depending on hospice organizations’ staffing availability and care needs.
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The Hope Center is a former hotel that was purchased by New Castle County to serve people experiencing homelessness in Delaware. The sixth floor has 36 rooms which are reserved for medical respite care, and ChristianaCare will provide a medical team for on-site clinical services.
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Hope Services Hawaii opened the Wilder House on July 1st in Hilo. The medical respite home has 8 new residents as well as 24/7 on site nursing staff. Director of Health Services Michiko Fried said, "We're setting people up for independence. Then they will go to their forever home. But they will have wraparound services - so we are working to coordinate that."
- ‘A’ala Respite began accepting clients in July at a new medical respite facility in downtown Honolulu. The facility offers 32 beds with 24-hour medical care, provided by Premier Medical Group Hawai’i. There are also 30 kauhale units in the parking lot where clients can receive medical treatment in their own space.
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The Healthcare Transformation 1115 Demonstration waiver was federally approved in July, allowing the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to expand Medicaid coverage. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved an amendment and an extension for five years for the existing 1115 waiver. It now includes services that are newly eligible for federal Medicaid match. These programs help address health-related social needs, including medical respite.
- The Village of Oak Park, as the fiscal agent for Housing Forward, was awarded a $2 million grant in state funds to rehabilitate the property formerly known as The Write Inn. The property is intended to offer 45 rooms for adults, couples and small families in addition to 19 rooms for medical respite care.
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In Indiana, the city of Bloomington hosted a community workshop to discuss strategies for reducing unsheltered homelessness. One of their priority needs is to increase the number of beds for medical respite and determine any need for additional shelter beds.
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Construction began in September on the Community Care Campus, Louisville's newest project to house and care for people experiencing homelessness. Volunteers of America will help run the campus. The campus will include medical respite and will offer medical services provided by partners at U of L Health and Norton Healthcare. The campus will open in phases and expects to be fully operational in 2027.
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Baltimore city leaders announced in October that two hotels previously bought by the city will become permanent housing - just a block away from the local Health Care for the Homeless building. The two hotels are planned to become "Sojourner Place at the Falls" - a 155-unit housing complex, with future plans for a 50-unit medical respite center.
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US Senator Ed Markey toured the Lynn Community Health Center’s Deborah Smith Walsh Recuperative Care Center in recognition of National Community Health Center Week in August. “This program really fills a niche, that otherwise would just go unserved in the community, and spotlights community health centers,” Markey said. “I just think it’s a good model for the whole rest of the country.”
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In Worcester, The South Middlesex Opportunity Council and UMass Memorial Health are collaborating to provide essential services for people experiencing homelessness with a new seven-bed medical respite center. UMass Memorial Health says they've been able to serve 18 patients over the last several months, with three exiting respite to transition to safe and stable housing of their own.
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New Bedford’s Mayor Jon Mitchell has released a study the city commissioned to analyze how it can improve its response to homelessness, according to a press release. The 85-page study was authored by the Technical Assistance Collaborative and includes recommendations to leverage Medicaid, medical respite, and hospital partnerships.
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In April, Kansas City, Missouri’s city council voted to re-open the Request for Proposal to give organizations another 30 days to apply to receive federal HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan Program funds to build a low barrier shelter. Care Beyond the Boulevard, a group that provides free healthcare services and medical respite, says they will be applying a second time to receive funding. Care Beyond the Boulevard operates 8 medical respite beds, with a hope to expand.
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The Kansas City council approved two plans in August to bring mental health and homelessness support services to Northeast Kansas City. One plan is to renovate the Hope Faith homeless shelter into a low-barrier overnight shelter. Care Beyond the Boulevard will create medical respite beds. The city plans to build a 200-bed behavioral health facility, as well.
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Haven Recovery in St. Louis is expanding to advance the development of its recuperative care services, which offer a new level of care in Missouri. They first began providing recuperative care in 2021 by way of a pilot project with SSM Health. The project led to further growth supported through its partnership with the Behavioral Health Network, hospital systems, community behavioral health providers, and other community partners.
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In August, the Las Vegas City Council approved three bill draft requests for the 2025 Legislative Session. One proposal from the city is seeking a statutory definition of “medical respite care” that would aid the city in paying for medical services at the Recuperative Care Center within the Corridor of Hope, an area near downtown Las Vegas where homeless services are located.
- The Recuperative Care Center in Las Vegas has 38 respite beds that are consistently full. If the state legislature approves a path for Medicaid funding, they hope to double the number of respite beds and add a crisis stabilization unit.
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The New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA) announced that the state has received federal approval for new Medicaid programs aimed at addressing individual health-related social needs, including a pilot program for medical respite. The respite program will be based at the Gibson Health Hub in Albuquerque, and will be operated in partnership with University of New Mexico Hospital and Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless.
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Housing for Health is a New York initiative that recognizes the chronic health issues of unhoused individuals cannot be treated without stable housing. This initiative seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers by focusing on four strategic areas: navigation services, medical respite beds, affordable housing on hospital property, and social service support for patients in permanent housing. Over 1,000 patients have been housed by this initiative.
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Greensboro's Servant Center purchased the Holden Heights building, a four-story 37,000 square feet facility that will significantly expand the Servant Center's mission of empowering veterans and individuals experiencing homelessness. The center will feature 22 beds for respite care recovery from illness or injury and 21 single-occupancy rooms for veterans transitioning out of homelessness.
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In Ashville, the bright green van that is Appalachian Mountain Health’s mobile medical unit provides primary and mental health care at set locations in the community. Patients have not been coming into Appalachian Mountain Health’s brick-and-mortar location as much since Hurricane Helene, says Summer Hettinger, a family nurse practitioner. The mobile team has been working hard to assess each day what the community needs are and go to where they are greatest. They recently visited Haywood Street Respite, a medical respite for people experiencing homelessness to recover from health challenges.
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Central Health, which is Travis County’s hospital district in the Austin, TX area, plans to spend more than $353 million on health care services this year, including medical respite care. Earlier in August, Central Health voted to renovate the former Children’s Hospital of Austin to create a downtown medical respite facility.
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The INN Between in Salt Lake City serves a variety of needs of people experiencing homelessness, including hospice and medical respite care. According to Jillian Olmsted, CEO and executive director, an independent study found The INN Between has helped local hospitals reduce the average yearly length of stay for this population by 13.49 days from admission to discharge, representing a 91.44% decrease in hospital utilization and about $47,000 in annual savings per patient. Olmsted is hoping to present this study to health system executives in the fall of 2024.
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The Utah Department of Health and Human Services released a one-year summary of mortality among people experiencing homelessness in Utah — the first official report of its kind for the state. "We hope that by producing this report, those who requested to know more about mortality in people experiencing homelessness in Utah will begin to have their questions answered, and policymakers and service providers can use this as a tool when they want to make informed, data-driven decisions. We also hope and intend this report will honor those who passed away by bringing awareness of their deaths through the data we have collected and analyzed," the authors wrote.
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Northwestern Medical Center has launched a medical respite pilot program in St Albans City. Funded by the Vermont Department of Health, the program opened in February 2024 and provides thirty day stays within two different apartment buildings.
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Lighthouse Mission Ministries’ newest enhanced shelter, located in Bellingham, will be opening its doors in October. Lighthouse Mission says the facility will offer an array of services that provide support to individuals at various stages of life and recovery. Services will include a 16-bed medical respite dorm, access to case management, and a medical clinic.
- Tacoma’s Nativity House shelter and medical respite program has been instrumental in supporting people experiencing homelessness who are discharging from local hospitals. This article describes one man’s personal experience and benefit from respite care, including achieving stable housing.
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Medical respite programs characterize a care model that has been developed to address the health care and social needs of people experiencing homelessness by providing post-acute hospital care in a safe environment. Although this model has been shown to reduce hospitalizations, improve health outcomes and increase access to health services, prior studies of respite programs and outcomes have been limited to individual sites and may not generalize to the population of individuals receiving respite care. This study protocol describes a mixed method design to collect organizational, provider, and patient-level data from a sample of respite programs.
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If you have a news story recognizing a medical respite care program, please share it with us by emailing Beau at bantonelis@nhchc.org.
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The Respite Care Providers’ Network is a membership network of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC). The mission of the RCPN is to improve the health status of individuals who are homeless by supporting programs that provide medical respite care (also known as recuperative care) and related services. Not already a member? Join us!
Does your program need technical assistance? Please contact us to request a TA meeting to help address your program’s needs! Additional resources for medical respite/recuperative care can be found at www.NIMRC.org.
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Copyright © 2024 National Health Care for the Homeless Council, Inc.
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