Between the hospital and the street: Addressing a crucial gap in care

Between the hospital and the street: Addressing a crucial gap in care 
healthleaders.com; by Eric Wisklund; 8/23/24 
A unique program in Salt Lake City is managing care for underserved patients who live on the street or in an unsafe location, and helping hospitals reduce ED crowding, improve care coordination and reduce costs in the process. The INN Between is a nine-year-old program that began as a 16-bed Catholic convent and is now an 80-bed “assisted living facility” of sorts, offering everything from hospice care to rehabilitation and care management services. The organization addresses a significant care gap for health systems and hospitals who see these patients in their Emergency Departments and ICUs—and who often discharge them to an uncertain care landscape. ... The INN Between, which operates year-to-year on a budget of $1.6 million (recently cut down from $2 million), exists on a mishmash of charitable donations, grants, and the occasional federal or state subsidy. 
Editor's Note: Pair this compassionate solution with the scathing article about hospice fraud and abuse of homeless persons, Fraudulent hospices reportedly target homeless people, methadone patients to pad census, by Jim Parker at Hospice News.