Recuperative centers provide care for those ready to be discharged but too sick for shelters
LOS ANGELES - A newly released report by the National Health Foundation (NHF) documents the successes of a private hospitals program to safely discharge homeless patients and save money for the participating hospitals.
According to the report, the two-year-old nonprofit dedicated to addressing the healthcare needs of the underserved, the Recuperative Care Center of Los Angeles, has so far been used by 35 private Los Angeles hospitals, allowing for the safe discharge of homeless patients with an estimated total hospital savings over $4 million.
The Recuperative Care Center, which is one of two recuperative care pilot programs in Los Angeles and Orange counties, provides participating hospitals with a location to discharge homeless patients who are not sick enough to remain in the hospital, but too sick for shelters.
Prior to this program, private hospitals struggled with appropriate discharge options for their homeless patients, and as a result reported keeping homeless patients up to four days longer than medically necessary.
The Recuperative Care Center provides homeless patients a safe and clean environment to recover where they can receive medical oversight, support in attending follow-up appointments and a connection to supportive services and housing options.
The program is sustained solely by fees paid by the participating private hospitals and receives no government funding.
"The program is 100 percent funded by the hospitals and their utilization of the program," said Kelly Bruno, chief operating officer at the NHF. "The program really sustains itself."
According to the NHF report, hospitals in Los Angeles County treat more than 18,000 homeless patients each year, contributing to the more than $4 billion in uncompensated care that Los Angeles hospitals provide.
"At our program, we provide care for these patients for around 10 or 11 days, including medical care follow-up, education and a housing program. It saves the hospitals tremendously on both the front and back ends," said Bruno. "The hospitals are keeping the patients fewer days, and with proper discharge care, preventing avoidable readmissions. The primary way hospitals are saving money is through quicker discharges and not keeping patients longer because they had nowhere else to go. Some patients would stay at the hospital for two weeks, and the hospitals are the ones eating those costs. It only costs the hospitals $10 a day to keep a patient at our program."
According to Sabrina Edgington, program and policy specialist with the National Healthcare on Homeless Council, there are 63 recuperative/respite care programs for homeless patients nationwide. Some programs, like the Los Angeles program, are self-funded, while others are paid for by local housing and urban development funds. A few programs are partially reimbursed through Medicaid or Medicare programs.
"Right now, medical respite programs are a really important part of our health reform efforts," said Edgington. "They can play an important role because a lot of hospitals and health systems are looking to improve quality and readmissions. Some of these patients are the most frequent users and the most costly."