Medical respite care (MRC), also referred to as recuperative care, is acute and post-acute care for people experiencing homelessness who are too ill or frail to recover from an illness or injury on the streets or in a shelter but who do not require hospital-level care. MRC programs offer short-term residential care that allows individuals experiencing homelessness the opportunity to rest, recover, and heal in a safe environment while accessing medical care and other supportive services.
The field of MRC continues to grow and evolve as communities across the U.S. increasingly recognize the value of this essential service. The data dashboard below provides a national snapshot of the state of MRC programs in 2026.
Notable Growth
From 2025 through July 2026, at least 17 new medical respite care programs opened. Since last year's Insights from the Field update, the number of programs partnering with home health agencies to provide clinical care has increased by 25%. Additionally, more programs are offering accommodations for families. Hospital funding and grant funding remain the two largest sources of financial support for medical respite programs, while case managers and care coordinators continue to be the most prominent staff roles.
Note: The data presented here is self-reported by MRC programs based on their profile submissions in the new Medical Respite Program Directory. If your MRC program is not represented here or if you would like to provide updated information, please visit our directory page to learn more. Program profiles listed in our previous directory were not moved over to the new directory to ensure we have the most up-to-date information. However, they were counted in the total number of medical respite programs known to be open and operational.
