Medical recovery centers for homeless could expand across Mass.

What started as a pilot program in certain Massachusetts cities to create safe spaces for the homeless while they are recovering from an injury, surgery or chronic illness could soon be expanded across the state.

The project, Homeless Medical Respite Service, has already addressed the needs of more than 60 people in five Massachusetts communities: providing protected recovery time and space to residents who would otherwise be discharged into a communal shelter space. And who could then find themselves sleeping in a doorway, on a park bench or in other unprotected spots.

“The unhoused have increased rates of chronic medical conditions,” said Roger Herzog, executive director for the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp ., which works with community development corporations and nonprofits to address housing issues. Those conditions are exacerbated through the lack of safe and protected recovery areas.

“There is no place to discharge patients who need a safe and protected place to recover,” Herzog said. And hospitals, officials noted, do not have the beds available to allow extended stays to ease the recovery process.

At the July meeting of the group on Tuesday, organized through the Interagency Council in Housing and Homelessness , and attended by officials from the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, MassHealth and state Department of Mental Health, among others, the organization reviewed the parameters of the project.

It is designed both to address the acknowledged lack of hospital capacity as well as the chronic health issues suffered by people who are unhoused.

Under the plan, MassHealth would create two programs — one for MassHealth members who are preparing for and recovering from a colonoscopy, and a second, more extensive plan that addresses recovery needs of members recovering from injuries, chronic and acute conditions, and surgery.

On discharge, clients would receive the same instructions housed people are sent home with, given medications and directions on taking them, appointments with the local Visiting Nurses Association and a physical therapy schedule if needed.

“This would be a relaxed, comfortable space where they could breathe,” said Emily Cooper of MassHealth.

The service would be available to all MassHealth clients 18 and older and includes those in managed care and who participate in fee-for-service plans. Federal regulations limit the length of stay to 183 days.

“The clients would be stable, ready for discharge, able to attend to daily living tasks,” said Lena Brown of MassHealth as she outlined the project.

The project relies on a partnership between hospitals, community health centers, and state agencies that support the homeless populations. Referrals to the project would be made through the health care system. Organizers hope that having guaranteed lodging for six months would relieve clients of the nightly stress of seeking immediate shelter and allow them time to find a permanent placement.

Brown described the ideal setting as located in a community-based structure, but not in congregate or dormitory-style rooms. The facility would be open 24 hours a day, have private bathrooms, private places for visits from medical providers, onsite clinical services, laundry access, safe storage areas for personal possessions, refrigerators for food and medicines and even isolation areas.

The public will be invited to comment on the proposal later in the summer with a Jan. 1, 2025, projected launch date.

The state is reviewing and analyzing the data collected through the pilot program established in Northampton (10 beds) Hyannis (seven beds), Lynn (10 beds), Springfield (eight beds) and Worcester (seven beds), and expects to set regulations and enrollment criteria after the public-comment period.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Medical recovery centers for homeless could expand across Mass.