Construction Nearing Completion at Mission Hills Facility set to Offer Only Refuge for Homeless Residents in Valley Transitioning from Hospital Stays
Los Angeles, CA, August 31, 2015 (Newswire.com) - "Right now our homeless residents have nowhere to go when they leave the hospital, and no one to look after them while they recover," explains Ken Craft, CEO of Hope of the Valley. "It's not fair to them, it's not fair to us taxpayers who foot the bill when they end up right back in the ER, and it's not fair to the hospitals who have no beds left for patients who need immediate care."
Construction is nearly complete on the first homeless recuperative care center in the San Fernando Valley, which will finally give the homeless a place to go when discharged from any of the 17 hospitals in San Fernando, Simi and Santa Clarita Valleys. The hospitals are impacted directly with dramatically reduced costs, beds freed up for patients who need immediate medical care, and by alleviating an ongoing problem with patient dumping.
"Right now our homeless residents have nowhere to go when they leave the hospital, and no one to look after them while they recover. We're going to change that."
Ken Craft, CEO Hope of the Valley
The state of the art facility will offer the most comprehensive care for homeless in the Los Angeles area. It will be the only place offering care for non-ambulatory homeless, and the first to integrate physical and mental health services along with job training. There will even be on-sight job opportunities at the licensed catering kitchen. "When Hope of the Valley committed to this project, we wanted to cover all our bases," says Craft. "We will not only get our clients on their feet physically, ultimately our goal is to lead the homeless out of homelessness."
First of its Kind
The First recuperative care in Los Angeles to offer care to those who are not yet ambulatory. The other homeless care centers in LA have strict and limiting admission criteria, forcing many homeless patients to spend additional and extremely costly days in hospitals before they're deemed "ready" for the existing facilities.
The First recuperative care to integrate physical and mental health services along with job training for a fully immersive transitional care program.
The First recuperative care center outside of South LA, and the only one accessible to the more than eight thousand homeless residents in the San Fernando Valley.
16000 Sq. Ft Building
- 30 Beds
- Restrooms and Showers
- Laundry Facility
- Licensed Catering Kitchen
- Dining Hall
- Multi-Purpose Room
- 3 Medical Exam Rooms
- 2 Counseling Rooms
- Day Room and Computer Room
- Physical Therapy Area
- Case Managers Offices
Basic Services Include
- Weekly Nursing Assessments
- Daily Vitals and Medication
- Daily Wound Care
- Intensive Case Management
- Transportation to and from Appointments
- Life Skills and Resume Building
- Access to Computers/Internet
Why this State of the Art Recuperative Care Center is a Win-Win-Win
- Hospitals Win: Homeless patient readmission will be reduced by over 80% freeing up beds for patients needing immediate medical care.
- Tax Payers Win: Recuperative Care drastically reduces uninsured medical expenses covered by taxpayers.
- Homeless Win: Homeless patients will recover in a safe environment and receive services to end their homelessness.
Recent Evidence There's a Huge Gap in Health Care for LA's Homeless
Patient Dumping Fines & Lawsuits:
- Beverly Hospital in Montebello Settled with the City for $250,000
- Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley reached a $600,000 settlement
- Glendale Adventist agrees to pay $700,000 in settlement
- Hawaiian Gardens Hospital facing fines for alleged Patient Dumping
Supporting News Articles
- LA files suit accusing Hawaiian Gardens hospital of patient dumping
- Montebello hospital accused of dumping homeless patient will pay fine
- Glendale hospital to pay $700,000 in skid row patient-dumping suit
Hope of the Valley purchased the building on 11134 Sepulveda Blvd. for $1.6 million. Another $1.8 million is needed to complete the renovation. Hope of the Valley has raised $900,000 so far and is continuing to collect donations to repay loans from City National Bank.
Dry wall is up and opening day is scheduled on November 1, 2015. To help or donate please visit www.HopeoftheValley.org.
Journalists and photographers please contact Stephanie Abrams at stephanie@givebackpr.org or 323-999-4489 for more information or to arrange interviews.
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