Participants at Nov. 5’s Los Angeles symposium on homeless patient discharge procedures included Dr. Elaine Batchlor (left) of Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital.

With a new year on the horizon, HASC will continue to address homelessness and its accompanying pressure on providers.

Two recent events highlight the association’s consideration of this issue. On Oct. 12, HASC-affiliate National Health Foundation opened a 62-bed recuperative care center downtown. On Nov. 5, HASC co-hosted a symposium on homeless patient discharge procedures — working with Los Angeles city and county attorneys’ offices.

The Nov. 5 event provided insight on the challenges and complexities associated with the discharge of individuals experiencing homelessness — and offered best practices and innovation in programs and resources to assist providers. 

Efforts on the issue continue.

HASC in Orange County has joined United to End Homelessness – a United Way campaign designed to lessen NIMBYism, a common response to proposals for housing developments designed to house those who have experienced homelessness. The association serves on the effort’s leadership council with Mark Costa, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente Orange County, and with Dr. Richard Afable, CHA Board Chair.

This week, through Sunday, marks Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week. The campaign includes messages on billboards, bus stops and social media. It is sharing facts like the top three causes of homelessness in Orange County – securing and/or retaining jobs with sustainable wages, finding and/or retaining affordable housing, and family issues. Drug and mental health issues, perhaps surprisingly, do not rank in the top three.

Learn more about United to End Homelessness here.

On Nov. 1, California Hospital Association presented a webinar on discharge planning for patients experiencing homelessness. Effective Jan. 1, California hospitals must satisfy multiple conditions before discharging a homeless patient. SB 1152 requires hospitals to include, as part of facility policies, a homeless patient discharge planning policy and process. Among other provisions, the policy requires hospitals to prepare homeless patients for return to the community by connecting the patient with available community resources, treatment, shelter and other supportive services.

The CHA webinar remains online. Jennifer Bayer, HASC’s external affairs and strategic communications VP, is available to answer questions.

Contact:
Jennifer Bayer
(213) 538-0730
jbayer@hasc.org