Medical respite care for homeless people: a growing national phenomenon.

The first known respite care facilities for homeless people emerged in the mid-1980s, but recent trends in health systems and services have driven their rapid proliferation across the country within the past decade. This report is the first attempt to describe these respite programs comprehensively.

The effects of respite care for homeless patients: a cohort study.

Objectives: Homeless individuals experience high rates of physical and mental illness, increased mortality, and frequent hospitalizations. Respite care provides homeless individuals with housing and services allowing more complete recovery from illnesses and stabilization of chronic conditions.

Methods: We investigated respite care's impact on 225 hospitalized homeless adults consecutively referred from an urban public hospital during a 26-month period.