Evaluating a Community Based Recuperative Care Pilot Program
Background. The Affordable Care Act calls for improved transitional care from hospital to home. One population that has historically experienced poor care transitions are people who lack stable housing. Deprived of an adequate space to rest, store medications, obtain proper nutritional and physical care, a person’s health declines and recovery is difficult. Lack of an adequate place to convalesce post-hospitalization may result in frequent readmissions. One solution is medical respite or recuperative care, a model of care that provides adults experiencing homelessness with recuperative or convalescent services away from the dangers of the street. The recuperative care program in this study is an outgrowth of a collaborative community-academic partnership between the Seattle Mennonite Church and Seattle University’s College of Nursing. After performing a community needs assessment, it was determined that a community based recuperative care model where clients are housed in a motel while receiving case management along with needed services such as wound care and medication management would best meet the needs of this population.
Methods. Measures include demographics of clients, length of stay, program costs, and transition to permanent housing. Qualitative feedback from key stakeholders such as the home care agency and hospital referral personnel will also be collected. In addition, the pilot study evaluation includes exit interviews and six month follow up interviews with clients.
Results.Data collection and concurrent data analysis are in progress.
Implications. The data from this study will be used to refine and move toward a sustainable recuperative care program for this client population.