6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS SHELTER SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 Recuperative Care program for homeless attempts to fill healthcare gap ROBBIE FEBRUARY Groundcover contributor The Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, in partnership with Packard Health, has a program to help homeless people recover after leaving the hospital. It's called the Recuperative Care program, and it's a safe place where people can stay and get better. They get a temporary bed, medical care and help finding a permanent home, all without cost. It runs out of the Delonis Center in Ann Arbor, and there are currently 12 beds. While it is not a skilled nursing facility, the partnership with Packard Health (as well as participation and referrals from Michigan Medicine and Trinity Health) means there is contact with healthcare professionals who can spot problems and make referrals to health organizations. Patients see the well-loved Dr. Ravi Vadlamudi from Packard Health and receive holistic care including analysis of overall health. Megan Daniels serves as a fulltime nurse. The pilot for the program, which is managed by Recuperative and Crisis Care Coordinator Shannon Gilroy LLMSW, took place in 2019, and the program started up in 2021. To get in often requires a referral, and there are detailed instructions for qualified personnel on the SAWC website, www. annarborshelter.org, by searching for the Shelter Association’s Programs page. According to that website, Recuperative Care programs offer several key benefits: • Breaking the cycle of hospital readmissions: By providing a safe space for homeless individuals to recover after hospital discharge, these programs prevent unnecessary returns to the hospital. • Promoting overall health and well-being: Recuperative care allows individuals to fully heal from illness or injury, improving their long-term health outcomes. • Facilitating access to essential services: These programs connect individuals with primary care, behavioral health services and social services, addressing their comprehensive needs. • Supporting housing stability: By assisting individuals in finding permanent housing, recuperative care programs contribute to long-term stability and self-sufficiency. This program is important because some people who are homeless get stuck in a tough cycle. They leave the hospital but have nowhere to rest and heal, so they end up back in the hospital again or face a lot of avoidable pain and suffering. The SAWC program wants to break that cycle and help people get back on their feet and stop struggling against the rejection they often face. For example: see that person in the park with the dog? I've known him a bit. I have even Narcanned him. He was so blue before he started breathing again. He has worms for pets. I mean, his pets have worms. He also has worms. His worms should have been addressed by any of a handful of hospital stays. I attempted to reach members of HAWC and other avenues to help him out. Obviously, if he had had a recuperative care program to care for him intensively, many of his longer-term problems could have been avoided. This long-term unhoused individual, who wants to remain anonymous, has spent over four years on the street. He fares pretty well, takes care of his Recuperative and Crisis Care Coordinator Shannon Gilroy in front of the Packard Health Clinic located at the Delonis Center. Clinic hours are 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on Mondays and 1-6 p.m. onThursdays. immediate needs. He has recently cleaned up and looks pretty dapper. But since he and his pet dog have intestinal parasites, they are carriers for hookworm. Sarge, my friend with two decades of history on Washtenaw’s streets, notes about the health system, “The lack of care is keeping people on the streets.” He is critical of the program, saying it doesn’t work. However, the problem seems less that the program is not working than that not enough people know it exists. Recuperative Care has served 122 people in its short life. Gilroy commented, “It’s a very needed and valuable resource in the community. There are only four or five Recuperative Care Centers in the state so we get referrals from all over the place. But we concentrate on the Washtenaw area. We get referrals from our two health care systems in Washtenaw County. "It’s been just incredible to see the things that have happened here. We've had folks come through with stage 4 cancer and we’ve been able to heal them and see them go on to get housing. It's clear how much it’s needed so that people are not dying outside.” Gilroy admitted that fewer people than optimal know about it, including those who might make referrals. Gilroy feels strongly about helping individuals who might not have a referral, saying, “If they come to the clinics on the second floor here at Delonis or even just the front desk, I can help them see a medical professional. I can help them.” The clinics are held Monday morning 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and Thursdays 1:00-6:00 p.m. Gilroy would love to see the program expand and possibly get its own location. There is precedent for that. A similar program, L.A. Care Health Plan, teamed up with National Health Foundation to test out a new program that provides temporary housing and healthcare in a stand-alone facility for homeless folks who are fresh out of the hospital. It's like a halfway house. Gilroy acknowledged there are (hopefully temporary) problems and wants to address the space limitations that sometimes require turning people away, but understandably said, “I am very pleased with the way it’s going.”
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