2009 Community Partnership Award Winners
NATIONAL AWARD WINNER
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
Boston, MA
Most of us rely on the support of family or a visiting nurse when recovering from
surgery, illness or injury. Homeless men and women have no home to call their own
or family to care for them. Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program's (BHCHP)
Barbara McInnis House: Medical Respite Care Program is a 104-bed facility that
provides 24-hour medical care for homeless patients who are too sick for a shelter
or the street, but not in need of an extensive hospital stay.
Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Medical Center provide the majority of
patient referrals to McInnis House. These hospital partners are able to shorten the
length of hospital stays by discharging patients to recuperate at McInnis House. Both
hospitals house primary care clinics run by BHCHP clinicians, who have attending
privileges. They can share patient records, make referrals to specialists and
diagnostic/treatment facilities and follow admitted patients.
Every patient admitted to McInnis House receives care from a multi-disciplinary team that
consists of an M.D., a nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant, a registered nurse,
and a case manager. In addition to addressing medical needs, the McInnis House team
develops a discharge plan and links patients to other services to help with housing,
income and benefits issues. Shelter partners that house clinics offer follow-up care
and admit patients to McInnis House when their medical condition requires.
"Barbara McInnis House provides continuity in a system that's fragmented," says
Jim O'Connell, M.D., president and founder of BHCHP. "Addressing the complex needs of
the homeless shows us how to improve health care for all-by coordinating services
across medical disciplines."
Partners:
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP)
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston Medical Center
Over 80 shelter and outreach partners including the Pine Street Inn, St. Francis House
Rosie's Place, and N.E. Center for Homeless Veterans
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