Express Outreach: Health Information Outreach to Homeless Patients at the HOPE Recuperative Care Center

The Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine OUWB will collaborate with the HOPE Hospitality & Warming Center in Pontiac, Michigan to empower discharged homeless patients in its Recuperative Care Center with better health information seeking and literacy skills. Launched in 2015, the HOPE Recuperative Care Center is the only place in Michigan that offers medically supervised shelter to patients discharged from area hospitals with conditions that would be exacerbated by living on the street, in traditional shelters, or other unsuitable places. The recuperative model generally has demonstrated significant health improvements in both the health of clients and cost savings to health systems by interrupting high recidivism. An additional aspect of both of these goals, however, entails educating homeless clients about their health conditions and management strategies, as well as appropriate care seeking g e.g. when to go to the emergency department versus waiting for a primary care appointment. The aim of the proposed outreach project is to expand HOPE's capacity to help homeless persons recover from an acute illness, surgery, or injury in its Recuperative Care Center b connecting homeless clients with NLM and other related health information resources on medical or mental health issues of most concern to the homeless patients.