Bobby Watts is the Director of the NIMRC Initiative and the CEO of the National Health Care for the Council.

Interest in Medical Respite (aka Recuperative Care) has increased dramatically over the past few years, and interest accelerated during the past months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this increased demand for Medical Respite Care, two months ago, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council established a new special initiative, the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC). Our goals are ambitious: to increase the number of Medical Respite programs, increase the quality of their services, and increase the sustainability of Medical Respite programs.

Barbara DiPietro is the Director of Policy for NIMRC.

Our goal at the National Institute for Medical Respite Care is to improve health care services and health outcomes for people who are homeless. But the success of medical respite care programs depends on strong public policy support. That’s why NIMRC has a dedicated policy focus that examines how legislative and administrative policies can further promote effective programs, and engages key stakeholders so they better understand how to partner with us in that effort.

Julia Dobbins is the Director of Programs and Services for NIMRC.

Medical respite care is a fairly recent phenomenon, with the earliest programs beginning in the mid-1980s. As the need for medical respite care for people experiencing homelessness has grown, communities have responded by developing their own unique programs using the resources available to them.