The rate of visits to hospital emergency rooms by people experiencing homelessness more than doubled between 2011 and 2021.
Medical respite centers provide care for people who are homeless when they no longer need to be in the hospital.
But those centers are unlicensed and unregulated, and experts say the facilities and care available can vary dramatically.
On Cincinnati Edition, we’ll talk about what medical respite centers offer, why they’re needed, and what happens when those in respite care are discharged.
Guests:
- Dr. Bob Donovan, co-founder and chief of medical operations, The Center for Respite Care
- Julia Dobbins, director of medical respite care, National Health Care for the Homeless Council
- Caitlin Synovec, assistant director of medical respite care, National Health Care for the Homeless Council
The Center for Respite Care in Cincinnati will have a holiday concert Dec. 18 at the Sycamore Presbyterian Church with classical musician Michael Chertock, his family members and friends performing as part of the lineup. More information is available online.
Ways to listen to this show:
- Tune in live at noon ET M-F. Call 513-419-7100 or email talk@wvxu.org to have your voice heard on today’s topic.
- Catch the replay on 91.7 WVXU and 88.5 WMUB at 8 p.m. ET M-F.
- Listen on-demand. Audio for this segment will be uploaded to this page by 4 p.m. ET., or subscribe to our podcast.