L.A. Care Health Plan has kicked off a new pilot, leasing 16 beds at National Health Foundation’s (NHF) new Pico-Union Recuperative Care facility. Recuperative care programs provide immediate housing, on-site medical supervision, case management and supportive social services for patients experiencing homelessness who are transitioning out of an acute-care hospital. With the explosion of homelessness in Los Angeles County, recuperative beds fill a gap on the journey to permanent housing for vulnerable individuals who need a safe place to heal after a hospitalization.
“It is our hope that by offering these beds to a limited number of L.A. Care members, we will be able to illustrate the positive impact on health outcomes,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “If we can show a cost-savings through decreased readmissions, maybe the state will consider offering funding for these beds.”
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released a report earlier this year showing L.A. County has large gaps in nearly every housing intervention, including recuperative care.
This new pilot is a continuation of a partnership between L.A. Care and NHF that goes back more than a decade. Earlier this year, L.A. Care awarded NHF a $150,000 grant to help develop the Pico-Union facility. In 2007, L.A. Care awarded a $500,000 grant to the foundation for another recuperative care infrastructure project in downtown Los Angeles.
About L.A. Care Health Plan
L.A. Care Health Plan serves more than 2.2 million members in Los Angeles County, making it the largest publicly-operated health plan in the country. As a public entity, L.A. Care’s mission is to provide access to quality health care for L.A. County’s vulnerable and low-income communities, and to support the safety net required to achieve that purpose.