Why some Chicago hospitals are investing in resources to house their homeless patients

A handful of Chicago-area hospitals have begun investing in infrastructure to keep their chronically homeless patients off the street. But the move represents more than just lowering inpatient costs at participating facilities, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Chicago-based University of Illinois Health Hospitals & Clinics, in partnership with the nonprofit Center for Housing and Heath, created the Better Health Through Housing initiative to provide homeless patients with stable housing. Officials said doing so costs less for UI Health in the long run because it leaves the institution's chronically ill homeless patients less susceptible to illness and violence, among other factors that may affect their health, according to the report.

"The solution is cheaper than the problem," Stephen Brown, director of preventive emergency medicine at UI Health, told the Chicago Tribune. However, the driving motive behind the program is health equity, he added. "If someone came in with cancer, we would do extraordinary things to keep them alive. The irony is that if someone with a dangerous condition like homelessness comes in, we dismiss them," Mr. Brown said.

The housing for each patient in the program is funded primarily through grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, UI Health pays $1,000 per month for each patient in the program to cover support services, such as the hiring of a case manager. The amount is far less than the at least $3,000 per day bill to care for chronically homeless patients in the emergency room. Results from the pilot program indicate the average monthly cost to provide healthcare for each patient dropped 18 percent, from $5,879 to $4,785, the report states.

Last week, UI Health announced it will extend a pilot program, launched in 2015, and commit an additional $250,000 to place 25 more chronically homeless patients into permanent homes.

Several other Chicago hospital systems in the area have begun discussing similar programs. Mr. Brown said institutions such as Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Chicago Medicine have both expressed interest, while Swedish Covenant Hospital and Rush University Medical Center have launched, or plan to launch, programs this year, the report states.

To read the Chicago Tribune report in full, click here.

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