by Julia Dobbins, Director of Medical Respite Care for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council is looking forward to marking a significant milestone for the field of medical respite care next week with the launch of our long-awaited medical respite program certification process!
When the Respite Care Providers’ Network (RCPN) began developing the Standards for Medical Respite Care in 2011, there was hope that eventually we would create a nationwide process to highlight programs committed to best practices. Through the work of the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC), a special program of NHCHC launched in 2020, we built on those foundational standards and incorporated robust input from the MRC community to develop this voluntary certification process. We are thrilled to open the first round of applications for programs seeking NIMRC Certification on April 1, 2025!
This certification is more than a credential. It represents unwavering commitment to high-quality care, continuous improvement, and the advancement of medical respite care nationally. The road to this launch has been filled with research, testing, feedback from providers and partners, and endless refinement to ensure that this process truly supports medical respite programs in providing the best care for their clients.
Why is this certification so important right now? We believe this process provides programs with a recognized standard of expertise, validates their services, and enhances their professional credibility. More importantly, it contributes to raising the bar for the entire field, creating a community of skilled medical respite providers who share a common understanding of how effective programs provide care.
In August, I will celebrate 13 years with the Council. For 10 of those years, I’ve been responsible for supporting and expanding our medical respite work. I’ve learned that we are most effective in our work to support programs when we focus on listening, tailoring our response to the specific needs of a program, and bringing providers into our community. The NIMRC Certification process is an example of what the Council does best. We will walk alongside programs in their work to become certified, providing guidance and support throughout. Additionally, we will integrate programs into their larger community of providers.
So here is my ask of you today:
- Medical Respite Providers: I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen your practice and show off to your community the quality of services you are providing to your neighbors.
- Partners and Funders: I hope you will join us in ensuring this certification process is available to all programs no matter their budget. For now, we are able to offer certification at no cost to programs and we welcome your partnership in continuing this opportunity.
It seems fitting to me that we are launching certification in the spring. This is a time of renewal and new beginnings. Flowers are starting to bloom. Trees are beginning to bud. The Aries ram charges forward with unstoppable determination. And so it is with our team. We are ready for this new season in our work and we are proud to be leading our field forward.
Thank you for being a part of this exciting chapter with us. Here’s to a future of growth, compassionate care, and continued commitment to each other and our work to end homelessness.
Medical Respite Certification launches on April 1, 2025
The first application window will open at 12 p.m. CDT on April 1 and will close at 12 p.m. CDT on April 15.
