Here’s to our community partners as the Center for Respite Care celebrates 20 years of collaboration!
The Center for Respite Care emerged through the vision of a wide network of local organizations. The agency began as a collaboration of the Health Alliance, TriHealth, Mercy Health Partners and over 25 homeless agencies in 2003. It was started as a program of the Health Resource Center and initial funding included grants from local hospitals as well as the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.
While the Center became a separate non-profit corporation in 2005, that spirit of collaboration continues grow. We receive referrals from medical and social work personnel from all major area hospitals as well as clinics and shelters that serve the homeless. Our clients work with medical staff and case managers in the development of a wellness plan as well as an overall plan for a safe, stable, and appropriate environment upon discharge. Our case management is designed to connect clients to needed resources, thereby helping them to address ongoing challenges and have renewed hope. The Center’s staff maintains relationships with local organizations throughout the region who are working to end homelessness. The goal is to have clients leave the Center with the necessary resources to achieve sustainable independence.
In December 2017, the Center for Respite Care relocated to the shared non-profit hub of the Saint Anthony Center, where it operates alongside other organizations caring for the underserved, consisting of St. Francis Seraph Ministries, Mary Magdalen House, Franciscan Ministries, Foot Care for the Souls, and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church/Welcome Home Collaborative.
At the Center, we endeavor to treat the whole person, which requires the collaborative, caring hands of these organizations among many others including Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health, Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, Freestore Foodbank, La Soupe, Last Mile Food Rescue, Caracole, Ohio Addiction Services, New Life Furniture, Matthew 25 Ministries, as well as veterans’ services and other organizations in the wider community. The Center’s medical suite is proud to be an official Deaconess Health Check.
The Center is a member of the Greater Cincinnati Health Network’s Health Care for the Homeless Program. The services of our physician, Dr. Donovan, are generously provided by the Cincinnati Health Network, in addition to partial wage reimbursement for medical staff.
We also collaborate with students, nurses, doctors and other healthcare providers from Christ Hospital and Xavier University, as well as social and case workers from Northern Kentucky University. Through the duration of their time at the Center, these future healthcare personnel help design program activities and trainings for clients’ benefit. By giving these individuals the opportunity to work with people experiencing homelessness, the Center helps them learn trauma-informed methodologies of holistically caring for patients. Once again, the goal is to treat the whole individual with an awareness of the interconnected factors behind their health and homelessness. We have many generous volunteers at the Center who participate in the volunteer provided meal program, offer a listening ear, leisure and learning activities including weekly visits by therapy dogs to further enrich our clients’ overall wellbeing.
The Center is a premier medical respite center in the country with outcomes that far exceed those in other cities. The agency was awarded the Medical Respite Award for Excellence because of our innovative and collaborative approach to treating individuals who are experiencing homelessness and in need of medical recovery, resulting in outstanding outcomes.
