As one of the nation’s largest nonprofit Catholic healthcare organizations, CommonSpirit Health plays a crucial role in delivering services and coordinating the needs of patients and community members experiencing housing insecurities and homelessness through its Homeless Health Initiative (HHI). Our hospitals function as anchor institutions and resource connectors for our unhoused neighbors across many of our communities. This endeavor is deeply embedded in our organizational identity and exemplifies our mission and commitment to prioritizing health equity and social justice.
Two fundamental components within HHI are our lived expertise council and external partnerships. Our Research and Equity Advisory Council for Housing Insecurities (REACHI) establishes partnerships between individuals with lived expertise, the health care system, and providers and advocates of homeless services. The council provides guidance and leadership ensuring our programs across CommonSpirit are thoughtful in design, can meet the needs of our target population and align with our organizational values.Â
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Collaboration is one of CommonSpirit’s core values and a cornerstone of Community Health. Through partnerships, collaboration is integrated into every facet of our work. As a national health system, partnering with other nationally recognized organizations, such as the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC), enhances our efforts and provides opportunities to assimilate promising practices across our operational footprint. NHCHC convenes like-minded individuals and organizations who collectively address some of the most challenging problems, with a focus on amplifying the voices of those we serve and operating through a community-centered methodology. The National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC), a special program of NHCHC, offers expertise and direction concerning medical respite and recuperative care, which continues to gain recognition as a best practice for serving our unhoused and medically vulnerable patients.
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CommonSpirit has had the opportunity to engage in partnership with NIMRC to assist in building capacity and resources across our ministry. This encompasses responding to federal and state policy shifts, implementing 1,115 waivers, and establishing new medical respite programs to address the escalating need. In Bismarck, North Dakota, NIMRC and CommonSpirit collaborated to support Stepping Stone Ministries. Â Through partnership with NHCHC, including its NIMRC program, CommonSpirit has been able to leverage national best practices and access a secure forum for peer learning.
About CommonSpirit Health
Inspired by faith. Driven by innovation. Powered by humankindness. CommonSpirit Health is building a healthier future for all through its integrated health services. As one of the nation’s largest nonprofit Catholic healthcare organizations, CommonSpirit delivers more than 20 million patient encounters annually through more than 2,300 clinics, care sites and 138 hospital-based locations, in addition to its home-based services and virtual care offerings. CommonSpirit has more than 160,000 employees, 45,000 nurses and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice providers across 24 states and contributes more than $5 billion annually in charity care, community benefits, and unreimbursed government programs. Together with our patients, physicians, partners, and communities, we are creating a more just, equitable, and innovative healthcare delivery system. Learn more at commonspirit.org.
