Medical respite programs improve continuity of care for people experiencing homelessness by bridging health systems and by promoting patient self-management. Studies indicate that patients who access medical respite care have fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits in the months following program participation. For these reasons, medical respite programs are becoming a hot topic in health reform discussions.
Lacking any targeted funding stream, medical respite programs are shaped by the resources available to them. As such, each has a unique program model, scope, and service intensity. To promote quality of care across a diverse range of programs, a Task Force of national experts developed proposed minimum standards for medical respite programs.
In addition to advancing a general understanding of medical respite care, minimum standards will improve opportunities for research and bring us closer to stable federal funding for this service.
In this webinar, attendees will receive an overview of the proposed minimum standards, learn about the flexibility built into them to accommodate various program models, and hear about opportunities to provide feedback.
Speakers:
- Jessie Gaeta, MD, Medical Director, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
- Sabrina Edgington, MSSW, Director of Special Projects, National Health Care for the Homeless Council
