Medical Respite Insights

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.

February 15, 2021 The CDC Foundation (CDCF), in partnership with the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC), has awarded $1.6 million in grants to nine existing and emerging medical respite/recuperative programs across the country. Grant support will be spread over a two-year period and will include customized technical assistance for each program. Medical respite/recuperative

Bobby Watts, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, is one of 12 leaders nationwide appointed to the Biden-Harris Administration’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, the White House announced this week. In response to the appointment, Watts said: “I am deeply honored to be appointed to the COVID-19 Health Equity

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.