It takes a village: a multidisciplinary model for the acute illness aftercare of individuals experiencing homelessness.
Homeless individuals are often uninsured and are more likely than the housed to utilize acute health care services and experience longer hospitalizations. Currently in the United States, there are fragmented services available for the aftercare of these patients to ensure continuum of care, promote healing, and avoid re-entry into the acute care system. The Fourth Street Clinic Respite Program was created to address these issues. Patients are referred to the program from local hospitals and other service providers. Based on the acuity of illness and need for nursing care, patients are admitted to one of four programs: (1) Shelter-based Day Bed Program, (2) Temporary Emergency Housing (Motel) Program, (3) Tuberculosis Housing Program, or (4) Nursing Home Program. Aftercare patients receive medical, social, and behavioral health services and are discharged to local shelters when stable. The aftercare program provides a safe refuge for recovery from acute illnesses for those experiencing homelessness.
Gundlapalli
Adi
A
Wasatch Homeless Health Care, and University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. adi@fourthstreetclinic.org
Hanks
Monte
M
Stevens
Scott M
SM
Geroso
Amy M
AM
Viavant
Christopher R
CR
McCall
Yvonne
Y
Lang
Patrick
P
Bovos
Michael
M
Branscomb
Nicholas T
NT
Ainsworth
Allan D
AD
D000208:Acute Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D000359:Aftercare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D003631:Day Care, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons; D006801:Humans; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012944:Social Support; D012947:Social Work; D014218:Triage; D014589:Utah