Developing a COVID-19 Medical Respite Unit for Adults Experiencing Homelessness: Lessons Learned from an Interdisciplinary Community-Academic Partnership

Abstract

Individuals experiencing homelessness are at particularly high risk for infection, severe illness, and death from COVID19. Local public health initiatives to address the pandemic should include medical respite services for individuals experiencing homelessness with documented or suspected COVID-19 infection, who are well enough to not be admitted to the hospital. We are a group of public health officials, clinicians, academics, and non-profit leaders who partnered with the City of New Haven, Connecticut to develop a COVID-19 medical respite program for people experiencing homelessness in our community. We seek to describe the key processes and challenges inherent to designing the COVID-19 respite including: the balance between patient autonomy and a public health agenda, how to deliver trauma informed, equitable, patient-centered, high quality care with low resources, and approaches to program evaluation.