Local agencies working on plan to improve healthcare to homeless

QUINCY — Blessing Health has been awarded a $74,459 planning grant on behalf of itself and 10 community agencies to develop a medical respite care program that could be implemented in Quincy if long-term funding, a location for a facility and staffing can be identified.

Medical respite care is short-term housing combined with health services that allows people experiencing homelessness the opportunity to rest, recover and heal in a safe environment while accessing medical care and other supportive services.

Planning grants were recently awarded to 16 organizations, including Blessing Health, by the Illinois Public Health Institute. The funds came from the Illinois Department of Human Services as part of Home Illinois: Illinois’ Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which identified medical respite care as a key activity.

The community agencies working with Blessing on the Quincy medical respite care plan are:

• SIU Center for Family Medicine
• Clarity Healthcare
• Bella Ease
• Quincy Housing Authority
• Salvation Army
• Horizons Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry
• Transitions of Western Illinois
• United Way of Adams County
• Quincy YWCA
• Adams County Health Department

In a press release, Mary Frances Barthel, chief quality and safety officer for Blessing Health, said, “It motivates you when you know there are people who must have hospital care but cannot be discharged after their care because they don’t have a safe place to go to recover.”

“There are people in the Quincy community with medical needs who are living in their cars with other people and pets and can’t get the medical equipment they need because they do not have the environment to support healing or treatment,” said Julie Shepard, community health coordinator at Blessing Health. “Having a health condition is hard enough. I cannot imagine not having a stable place to manage it.”

The Quincy agencies will work until June 30 determining the specifics of the community’s needs and what type of program would fit with the community. The agencies will receive technical assistance and be members of a statewide learning collaborative as part of the planning process.

“We definitely want to determine how to get input from local people who live in these circumstances and find out what benefits they would want to see in a medical respite care program in Quincy,” Barthel said.

After planning is complete, the agencies could apply for a pilot program grant.