All medical respite referrals should be sent here: medicalrespite@unitedcaringservices.org
Through its medical respite services, UCS offers an important and successful Recuperative Care Program — the only one of its kind locally and one that has been nationally recognized. Medical respite services provide temporary shelter for homeless men and women needing a safe discharge from the hospital for healing, recovery, housing, and hope.
The respite services are typically available for up to six weeks but can be extended based on individual needs and circumstances. The persons admitted to the program will have a discharge plan, intense case management, regular contact with their personal healthcare provider, regular visits from the ECHO Outreach Team, and health assessment and education from USI nursing students as available.
UCS provides a safe, sanitary bed and environment, secure medication storage, non-medical supervision, security, cooked meals, full bathroom facilities, and other vital supportive services 24hrs/day, 7 days/ week.
The respite services provide wrap-around support to address the homeless status of each individual. The goal of this recuperative care program is to reduce recidivism and facilitate healing, recovery, and hope while seeking to stabilize a person’s living situation positioning them for healthier living. Support from valued partners like Deaconess, St. Vincent, Healthsouth, Anthem, and other community individuals and organizations makes this incredibly important program possible.
We are able to offer this amazing recuperative care program thanks to regular financial support from the Buck Foundation, Cecil A. and Mabel Lene Hamman Foundation, Holiday Management Foundation, Koch Foundation, Methodist Temple, Trinity UMC, and the Vanderburgh Medical Alliance. Without this additional community supporter, we would not be able to provide respite services for women or the level of case management we provide for all guests.
Additional referral and funding partners are being sought so the recuperative care services at UCS can remain financially viable and serve men and women through 2022 and beyond.
34 Men and Women
stayed 558 days/nights finding rest and recuperation in 2021
$850,000
in avoided inpatient stay expenses thanks to respite in 2021
Safe Discharges
85% of respite guests are safely discharged from respite
Permanent Housings
Nearly 40% of all safe discharges are into permanent housing
Admission/Referral Criteria:
- Guest is an adult, age 16 and over, currently experiencing homelessness
- Guest needs respite/recuperative services and has no other option for obtaining them
- Guest suffers from a primary medical issue that would benefit from a respite care environment and is referred by a hospital
- Guest has a medical condition that can effectively be addressed within 6 weeks
- Guest is independent in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
- Guest must comply with daily personal hygiene and cleanliness of respite area
- Guests are subject to policies and procedures of the day and night shelter programs
A full list of Admission/Referral Criteria can be found HERE.
Exclusion Criteria: Patients must not have behavioral issues, due to substance use or psychiatric diagnosis/disorder that require attention/staffing beyond respite’s current capacity. See the full list above for more information.
Resources: Check out this interesting article, “Medical Respite for People Experiencing Homelessness: Financial Impacts with Alternative Levels of Medicaid Coverage.”
HMIS Statement of Privacy 2021
Medical Respite Services Guidelines 2021
