Video: From the Hospital to Housing: Gateway Center Offers a Pathway to Stability
James’ story highlights the importance of a safe space to recover.
ALBUQUERQUE – Each day, the newly opened Medical Respite Center at Gateway Center provides a more appropriate space for unhoused individuals to recover from illness or injury. This includes James, a resident receiving treatment for a severe foot injury and infection that sent him to UNM Hospital.
Prior to his referral to the Medical Respite Center, James was precariously housed, living in a trailer in the backyard of a friend’s house. The trailer lacked access to running water or other utilities, creating a greater risk of re-infection.
James is now receiving comprehensive care at the Medical Respite Center, which includes medical check-ups, case management, housing navigation, and additional treatment and support.
“I feel extremely fortunate that I'm here… it feels like I now have an opportunity to move my life in a direction that it was meant to go in. And this is really the place for me,” said Medical Respite Center Patient, James. “I feel much, much better, physically and emotionally, mentally.”
“James' story is a powerful example of what’s possible when we meet people where they’re at, and surround them with supportive services and care,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “The Medical Respite Center is providing real pathways out of homelessness and into housing, and that starts with a safe place to heal.”
Since opening in February, the Medical Respite Center has served 68 people.
“The Medical Respite Center is about more than healing a wound; it’s about restoring dignity and stability for residents, including James,” said Health, Housing and Homelessness Director Gilbert Ramirez. “Medical Respite is also filling a major gap in service in our community and reducing the strain on emergency rooms by cutting down on re-hospitalizations.”
The Medical Respite Center is the result of a collaboration that includes our partners at Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, which is the main respite provider, First Nations, and Heading Home.
“As a new addition to the Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless (AHCH) leadership team, but also as someone with decades of primary care experience in New Mexico and around the world, this is the first program of this kind that I have been a part of,” said Dr. Peter Guérin, Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Medical Director. “It has been incredible to see the difference this program has made in peoples’ lives in such a short amount of time. People without homes are 3-4 times more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses and acute medical conditions than the housed population. Medical respite provides a unique opportunity to address continuity of care, provide stability, and work on health goals that are harder for people to address while living on the street. Respite has also allowed AHCH to collaborate with new community partners to connect clients to all the community supports they need to thrive both during and after their medical respite stay.”
A report by Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless highlights the need for Medical Respite. It cites data from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council that states readmission to the hospital is two times higher for individuals who are homeless. It also reveals that patients experiencing homelessness stay about four days longer per admission than other low-income patients.