Medical Respite Programs Make a Difference for Clients & Hospitals


We know that investing in efforts to end homelessness and providing appropriate care for those experiencing homelessness saves lives and saves public funds. Medical Respite programs at the Columbus House and New London Homeless Hospitality Center, offering specialized care for patients experiencing homelessness and exiting hospitals, provides further proof of this case.

Through this innovative collaboration between homeless providers and hospitals, which includes case management focused on housing, patient navigation to help coordinate care, visiting nursing service, and transportation to appointments, these partnerships are improving health outcomes for these individuals, including reducing their rate of re-admission to the hospital.

At YNHH, patients lacking housing are identified and assessed for need by social workers, while their post-discharge treatment is coordinated by care managers.  Once at Columbus House, Medical Respite patients receive patient navigation to services, visiting nursing care, transportation to appointments, and case management focused on housing. Through this close collaboration of shelter and hospital, this program is saving public funds.  Using very conservative measures, the billing to Medicaid per patient is reduced by an average of $12,000 during the following 12 months

For more information, check out this slideshow here or contact Alison Cunningham, Executive Director of Columbus House, at acunningham@columbushouse.org, Cathy Zall, Executive Director of the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, at czall@snet.net, Michael Ferry, LCSW, Senior Clinical Social Worker at Yale New Haven Health, at Michael.Ferry@ynhh.org.