Innovative Housing Solutions Aim to Improve Patient Outcomes and Decrease Unnecessary Hospital Visits
"The University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System's Stephen Brown, director of preventive emergency medicine, said more healthcare providers need to realize that people must have a place to live before their health issues can be properly managed. UIHealth has been helping house people in Chicago for nearly a decade, resulting in less frequent hospitalizations for those individuals.
Since 2015, UI Health has housed 130 individuals by giving about $350,000 annually from the system's general operating fund to Chicago’s Flexible Housing Pool, according to Brown. Through that pool, UI Health also provides individuals with housing navigation resources, care coordination services and rental subsidies to pay for up to three years of stable housing.
UI Health uses social workers and a case management panel to determine who qualifies for the program. Those individuals are able to choose from various one-bedroom apartments across the city, Brown said.
The health system has been fairly successful in stabilizing the health of chronically homeless people that participate in the program, with 80% to 90% able to retain their housing for more than one year, and a 35% reduction in emergency department use, Brown said."
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