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Summer 2015

Caring for Our Community

Providing Safe Housing for Patients As he talks about his current situation, Ed Stump quickly mentions he is thankful for the blessings he’s received. While he was recuperating from a heart attack at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, social workers discovered that Ed, 57, didn’t have a safe place to go when he was discharged.

“I was new to the area and I didn’t have a place to live,” he recalls. “I was dealing with a number of health problems and I was afraid of being on the street.”

In the past, when a person in Ed’s situation was released from a hospital stay, they would recuperate on the streets, out in the elements. Their health would have improved more quickly if they had rested in a bed in a safe place. Often their conditions worsened and they were soon re-admitted into the hospital.

Care, Dignity and Support

The Interim Care Program is a partnership between Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and LifeLong Medical Care that provides temporary shelter for homeless patients upon discharge. Ed and other vulnerable members of our community get a chance to recuperate with dignity and receive resources to help guide them out of homelessness.

All participants are screened and referred to the program by Alta Bates Summit social workers. For up to six weeks, the program provides home-less hospital patients with:

A clean, safe place to heal and recuperate

Medical and mental health care

Transportation, housing and substance abuse

services

altabatessummit.org

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Caring for Our Community

Medical Home, Community Resources Launched early in 2014, the Interim Care Program has expanded to a total of three sites in Oakland and Berkeley to support homeless members of the community. Recently discharged patients receive healthy meals and 24/7 access to a single or double room, so they can rest comfortably and regain their strength in a safe environment.

In 2014:

55 homeless patients discharged from Alta Bates Summit who entered the program

33 days was the average length of stay in a shelter

Only three patients were readmitted to the hospital within 31 days

“This program has produced

impressive outcomes by

connecting patients to a

medical home and helping

people enroll in eligible

programs and support

service. It’s all of these

positive interventions tied

together that have helped

improve the quality of life

for these patients.”Brenda Goldstein, MPH Psychosocial Services Director at LifeLong Medical Care

“Ensuring patients get routine medical care has helped improve their health outcomes and they are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital. The program not only affords people the time to schedule follow-up appointments with a primary care provider, but a chance to address other factors that can contribute to their overall health.”

Steve O’Brien, M.D. Chief Medical Executive Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

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Summer 2015

Listening and Learning to Live AgainA drug and alcohol counselor for more than 20 years, Tonnette Guzman, a LifeLong case manager, works to understand each client’s challenges.

“I really try to listen to our clients and figure out the best way to help them,” she says. “I know these people need a lot of support so I hold their hand and help guide them every step of the way. I check in with clients two to three times a week to make sure they’re taking their medications, visiting their doctor and developing short term goals they can reach.”

Guzman also helps by linking clients to:

Mental health services or substance abuse recovery

Transportation to doctors’ appointments and pharmacies

Tonnette Guzman (far right), with program participants Patricia Brown and Ed Stump

“Tonnette has been extremely

helpful and she’s given me the

confidence to start doing everything

myself. Because of this program,

I have a roof over my head, I have

food and every day my health keeps

getting better and better.”

– Ed Stump

Caring for Our Community Summer 2015

“Every Day Gets a Little Better”Patricia Brown moved into her own apartment in Oakland after completing the Interim Care Program. Because she requires dialysis treatment for kidney failure, Patricia needed a home and help getting to appointments and taking her medications.

“When I entered the program I had no energy and I had difficulty walking,” she says. “Having an advocate like Tonnette, who cared about my welfare and opened a lot of doors on my behalf, was very important. I’m stronger and back on my feet. It’s still a struggle but every day gets a little better. I want to dance again. That’s what I’m striving for.”

Patricia says she’s enjoying life again thanks to the Interim Care Program.

Program participant Patricia Brown

“This program offers vulnerable people in our community a chance to address the most basic needs in their lives. I get so much gratification from patients who are so appreciative they have a safe place to go following their hospitalization.”

Kim Pavlakos, LCSW Social Worker, Alta Bates Summit

Priority Need: Ensuring Access to Primary CareThrough its not-for-profit mission, Alta Bates Summit is providing more than $400,000 to LifeLong Medical Care in 2015 to fund the program and help other East Bay residents gain access to primary care and key social services.

Learn More OnlineTo learn more about Alta Bates Summit’s community benefit programs and see how our partnerships in the community help underserved and underinsured residents in the East Bay, visit http://newsroom.altabatessummit.org.

15-ABSMC-0003069