Interim Care Programs Help Combat Pervasive Problem With Hospitals ‘Dumping’ Patients
The programs offer homeless patients a place to go as they recover. There's a growing movement to curb the problem where hospitals discharge patients into homeless shelters and other facilities that are not equipped to handle their care.
Capital Public Radio:
Hospitals, Counties Seek Alternatives To ‘Patient Dumping’
When Laurie Teel was nearing the end of her stay at Sutter Auburn Faith hospital this January, she was terrified she’d end up back in the streets. Teel, then 54, was recovering from a heart attack. It happened just weeks after a landlord evicted her and her pit bull. She told staff at the hospital that she didn’t feel safe on her own. “I wasn’t going back,” she said. “I couldn’t go back. I’m homeless, and I didn’t want to go back to her old neighborhood because it wasn’t good for me.” So the hospital’s caseworkers made some calls. They got Teel a spot at an interim care program in a local shelter. Run by WellSpace health and funded by Sacramento’s four major health systems, interim care programs all over the region give homeless people a warm, clean place to recover from illness or injury. (Caiola, 6/5)