When someone is discharged from the hospital, they typically go home to rest and recover. But for people experiencing homelessness, “home” might mean a sidewalk, a tent, or an overcrowded shelter—places that make healing nearly impossible. That’s where CCC’s Recuperative Care Program (RCP) steps in.
Since 2005, RCP has been a lifeline for Portland-area individuals who are medically fragile and have no safe place to go after hospitalization. Located at Evergreen Crossing, the program offers a safe space to heal and recover for up to 84 people at a time. The program offers services tailored to meet individuals’ complex needs: from referrals to housing resources to medical oversight, and case management to connections to long-term care.
What is Recuperative Care?
Recuperative care—also known as medical respite care—is short-term, residential care for people who are too ill to recover on the street or in a shelter, but not sick enough to remain in a hospital. On a national scale, programs like RCP help reduce hospital admissions and emergency room visits while significantly improving patient health outcomes and connections to both housing and support services.
Today, there are approximately 145 medical respite programs across 40 states (NIMRC, 2023). Each program is unique, but all programs should include key components such as:
- 24-hour access to a bed and a safe space to store personal belongings
- Access to 3 meals per day
- Transportation to and from medical appointments
- Access to a phone for telehealth and communications related to medical needs
- Care coordination
- Wellness checks at least once every 24 hours by medical respite staff
Programs like CCC’s RCP provide more than a bed: they offer stability, safety, and support when people need it most. And according to national research, they’re essential in bridging the gap between hospital discharge and long-term recovery.
RCP: Recovery Rooted in Respect
At RCP, healing starts the moment a patient walks through our doors. Patients are referred by hospitals or outpatient clinics and are cared for by a multidisciplinary team that includes nurses, mental health professionals, housing specialists, and peer support staff.
RCP strives to exceed the key components recommended for all respite care programs, and provides:
- Daily health monitoring and on-site primary care
- Secure transitional housing
- Personal hygiene supplies and options for nutritional support
- Help managing medications and both making and keeping medical appointments (including transportation resources)
- Case management that spans medical, housing, and employment services
- Transition planning that supports ongoing recovery and housing placement
The results of our program speak volumes. Over 65% of our patients resolve their acute medical condition. Additionally, over 90% engage with a primary care provider and over 60% transition into stable housing after exiting.
Respite is Life-Saving Care
Without a safe place to heal, people cycle back into emergency rooms, shelters, or worse. They remain caught in a loop of poor health and instability.
As RCP Director Jordan Wilhelms notes, “People caught in this cycle need, above all, someone to sit down with them, someone to listen and someone to help figure things out. Our team is made up of an astounding collection of human beings who have the amazing blend of skills, deep reserves of empathy and heart to do just that. For people staying with RCP, the relationships and connections they build can be the difference between life and death.”
By providing access to health care, immediate placement in transitional housing and intensive case management services, RCP improves health outcomes for at-risk patients, improves the efficiency of participating hospitals and prevents patients from being discharged into shelters or onto the street. It’s also a proven solution to reducing overall strain on our hospital systems.
In an environment where housing and health are deeply connected, CCC’s RCP shows what’s possible when we care deeply for the whole person.
Explore CCC’s full range of health and support services!
