University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago is dedicated to securing permanent housing for homeless individuals who repeatedly visit the hospital's emergency room as part of its Better Health Through Housing program, according to WBUR.
Three things to know:
1. The hospital partnered with the nonprofit Center for Housing and Health to launch the program, which sees chronic homelessness as a health issue.
"If someone is living unsheltered under a bridge, and they have no other options because they might have been kicked out of crisis shelters, they're going to come to our emergency department and seek care," Stephen Brown, the hospital's director of preventive emergency medicine, told WBUR.
2. Securing permanent housing for homeless people not only reduces unnecessary ER visits, but also limits visits related to chronic conditions.
"Being homeless is hard on the body ... and if you have a chronic medical condition, it's only going to exacerbate it," Mr. Brown said.
3. The hospital pays $1,000 per individual per month for housing. The program is also supported through outside subsidies and grants. Mr. Brown said University of Illinois Hospital has already seen a significant drop in ER use among individuals given housing options.
"I think we've got a lot of compelling data that essentially says that housing is health," he told WBUR. "That once you put someone into stable housing with a little bit of support, or more support depending on the severity of their mental illness or substance abuse, they tend to do well."