b'Hospital entities also may have access to outreach staff or community case managers who will come visit patients on site as well as teach educational classes for diabetes and other chronic diseases. They also may have connections to community organizations that can support your residents in receiving services that are outside of what you can give. Funding opportunitiesdecrease. This is why the U.S. Department of D epending on whether your local hospitalHousing and Urban Development (HUD) is system has a nonprofit or a private status,stressing the importance of housing as a major they may have opportunities for fundingdriver in the social determinants of health under what is called a community benefit or com- (SDOH). SDOH are the nonmedical factorsmunity foundation. If they have nonprofit status,such as job insecurity, food insecurity, housing, hospitals are required to show how they addresseducation, and child developmentthat influ-social and health needs in the community. Theseence health outcomes. Recently HUD announced priorities can be found by reading your localnew funding opportunities to enhance health-Community Health Needs Assessment, which iscare and housing partnerships. These health-required by the IRS every three years. This is pub- care systems are focused on SDOH, and your licly available, and many times the needs addressedprogram more than likely addresses most of these will be for medically underserved, which includesnonmedical factors. The more you can prove persons without stable housing. Many systems havehow you meet the needs of patients, the more a whole department or grant process to disseminatebeneficial it can be for your funding strategies. these funds. You can research many of these optionsHospital systems and/or MCOs are funding online and find out how to apply or reach out tothese types of program beds at a substantially someone in charge of these processes.higher rate than what is standard. In states with a Hospitals and/or managed care organizationsMedicaid 1115 waiver, medical respite/recupera-(MCOs) often will invest in area shelter programstive beds are reimbursable with federal dollars. in order to ensure that patients receive a safeThere are guidelines and quality metrics associ-discharge and to help prevent high readmissions.ated with these funds, but if you are willing to Some of these programs are medical respite/ build capacity, this can be a game changer to recuperative care, substance abuse recovery, orgrow your organization. If you are interested in another type of long-term program that leadsfinding out more about implementing a medical to housing. Once individuals are in permanentrespite/recuperative care program, you can reach housing, then readmission rates drasticallyout to me (brooksann.mckinney@gmail.com) \x02 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG 23'