About 5 percent of people who are seen in the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center Emergency Department are homeless. When leaving the hospital after an illness or an injury, individuals are typically still healing and they need rest, comfort and follow-up care. Those who are homeless have nowhere to go.
Providence Health Care and Catholic Charities of Spokane collaborated to develop the Transitional Respite Care for the Homeless program. The program provides the community’s homeless men and women a safe, supervised place to rehabilitate from serious injury after hospital discharge or to continue healing from illness.
For example, in respite care, the person can receive wound care or administration of a course of antibiotics. Additional services may include rides to medical appointments, mental health and chemical dependency counseling, and case managers who help connect services such as Social Security and housing. (Mary Kay Clunies-Ross)
