Medical Respite Tool Kit

The purpose of this tool kit is to provide information and tools to help organizations and advocates plan, develop, and sustain medical respite programs. This tool kit organizes existing resources developed by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and other medical respite providers while incorporating new and practical tools.

Introduction and Overview of Medical Respite Care

• Defining Characteristics of Medical Respite Care
• Medical Respite Care: An Integral Part of the Homeless Care Continuum
• Medical Respite Brochure
• Medical Respite video. View it on the RCPN page or on YouTube.

Development & Finance

Planning a medical respite program

• Medical Respite Services for Homeless People: Practical Planning
• Medical Respite Program Development Workbook

Making the case for medical respite

• Medical Respite Care: Reducing Costs and Improving Care | April 2011
  This new policy brief updates an older cost avoidance paper and adds information about the role of medical respite programs during health reform.
• Medical Respite Research
  Annotated bibliography of published academic articles on medical respite care.
• An Evaluation of the Respite Pilot Initiative: Final Report | March 2006. Final report describing the results of a five year pilot program of 10 medical respite programs.
• John’s Monthly Hospital Visits
  Chart illustrating hospital utilization of 9 Cincinnati hospital’s by one patient before and after receiving medical respite care.
• Frequent Users of Public Services: Ending the institutional circuit – Changing systems to change lives | December 2009. Prepared by the Corporation for Supportive Housing, this report describes over a dozen programs, including medical respite programs that reduced public service utilization by frequent users of public services.
• Media Archive
  Collection of news articles focused on medical respite care.

Collaborating with Hospitals

• FAQs: Contracting with Hospitals
• Medical Respite Programs for Homeless Persons: Survey on Relationships with Hospitals | 2008
  Results from the Respite Research Task Force survey of 24 medical respite programs.
• Sample Memorandum of Understanding
• Sample Hospital Contract
• Engaging Hospital Support for Respite Programs PowerPoint
• HIPAA Business Associate Contracts (explanation and sample contracts)

Financing Medical Respite Care

• Medicaid Funding for Medical Respite
  PowerPoint presentation by David Buchanan, MD at 2005 Medical Respite Pre-conference Institute.
• HRSA Grant opportunities
• HUD Grant opportunities
• Medicaid Reimbursement for Medical Respite Services | September 2011
  This analysis describes medical respite care as an innovative model of care that reduces hospitalizations, and details state policy options for receiving federal Medicaid funding to support this service.
• Hospital Community Benefit Obligations: Implications for Health Centers and Communities | December 2012, This webcast hosted by the Clinical Directors Network provides an overview of hospital community benefit obligations. Nonprofit hospitals are obligated to invest in the communities they serve beyond the provision of direct medical services. The Affordable Care Act calls for strengthening and clarifying this obligation.

Operations

Administrative

• Medical Respite Program Policies and Sample Tools
• Webinar: Infection Control Policies and Practices for Medical Respite Programs | January 26, 2012

Clinical Care

• Medical Respite Care for People without Stable Housing. Homeless Health Care Case Report: Sharing Practice-Based Experience. Volume 2, Number 3 | March 2007
• Clinical Recommendations for the Medical Respite Setting | November 2011

Advocacy

• 2012 Medical Respite Policy Statement
• National Student Nurses’ Association Resolution in support of medical respite care, adopted 2008

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•