Leading Voices

Caitlin Synovec is the Medical Respite Program Manager for NIMRC.

As medical respite/recuperative care has grown, the available research and publications on medical respite have also increased. Previously, the most recent synopses of the evidence supporting medical respite care were completed in 2009 by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and in a systematic review by Kelly Doran et al. in 2013.

Caitlin Synovec is the Medical Respite Program Manager for NIMRC.

Medical respite and recuperative care has expanded significantly in the last several years, with programs continuing to grow across the country. Without an overarching regulatory body, the NIMRC Medical Respite Directory is the central location to identify respite programs across the country. The data captured within the Medical Respite Directory is used to identify the structure, funding, and services provided within each respite program.

Caitlin Synovec is the Medical Respite Program Manager for NIMRC.

The National Health Care for the Homeless Council’s Medical Respite Standards were developed to serve as a framework for medical respite programs; to support medical respite programs’ ability to operate safely, effectively, and seamlessly with local health care systems; and to promote program development and growth (NHCHC, 2016). Although medical respite programs’ structure and service delivery may vary in response to their community’s needs and resources, the Medical Respite Standards help to ensure quality and effectiveness of all medical respite programs in serving persons experiencing homelessness.

Julia Dobbins is the Director of Programs and Services for NIMRC.

While medical respite has grown exponentially in the last ten years, it is still a fairly recent addition to the homeless health care field with the earliest programs beginning in the 1980s. Only 35 states have medical respite programs and of those, only a few have five or more programs in their state. To raise awareness and gain community buy-in, programs must demonstrate with evidence how medical respite care adds value to health systems and facilitates a better continuum of care for very vulnerable clients.

Bobby Watts is the Director of the NIMRC Initiative and the CEO of the National Health Care for the Council.

Interest in Medical Respite (aka Recuperative Care) has increased dramatically over the past few years, and interest accelerated during the past months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this increased demand for Medical Respite Care, two months ago, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council established a new special initiative, the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC). Our goals are ambitious: to increase the number of Medical Respite programs, increase the quality of their services, and increase the sustainability of Medical Respite programs.

Barbara DiPietro is the Director of Policy for NIMRC.

Our goal at the National Institute for Medical Respite Care is to improve health care services and health outcomes for people who are homeless. But the success of medical respite care programs depends on strong public policy support. That’s why NIMRC has a dedicated policy focus that examines how legislative and administrative policies can further promote effective programs, and engages key stakeholders so they better understand how to partner with us in that effort.

Julia Dobbins is the Director of Programs and Services for NIMRC.

Medical respite care is a fairly recent phenomenon, with the earliest programs beginning in the mid-1980s. As the need for medical respite care for people experiencing homelessness has grown, communities have responded by developing their own unique programs using the resources available to them.

Bobby Watts is Director of the NIMRC Initiative and CEO of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

For many years, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council has worked to support, promote, improve, and expand the practice of Medical Respite, and the Council is recognized as the undisputed expert on Medical Respite Care. So, many may wonder: Why create the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC) now? Here are three of the reasons:

Julia Dobbins is the Director of Programs and Services for NIMRC.

I’ve seen the long term impact a medical respite stay can have on someone’s life. Providing a safe place for people to be when they are sick or hurt is imperative to our collective humanity. Until we eradicate homelessness from this country, NIMRC will be here to ensure that people without homes have a place to heal and recover, and that our communities have the training, resources, and support to build these programs.

Bobby Watts is Director of the NIMRC Initiative and CEO of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

I am very excited to be part of the establishment of the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC) as a special initiative of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. The purpose of NIMRC is to improve, promote, and expand the practice of Medical Respite Care (MRC) throughout the country. To accomplish these goals, we will foster and promote strategic partnerships at the national and local level and will provide state-of-the art Training and Technical Assistance, customized consultative services, research, and policy analysis and advocacy. I’d like to address three questions in my first entry for Leading Voices:

• Why Expand Medical Respite Care?
• Why Us?
• and Why Now?