Mayor Eric Adams, NYC Health + Hospitals CEO Dr. Katz Announce Expansion of Innovative Program to Keep More Medically-Vulnerable Homeless New Yorkers Out of Shelters

March 4, 2025

Expansion Will Allow 100 More Patients Experiencing Homelessness a Place to Stay for up to 90 Days After Major Health Event 

Medical Respite Program Helps Improve Health Outcomes for Patients, Reduces Hospital Stays, and Provides Access to Health Care Services Not Available in Shelter 

Expansion Delivers on Mayor’s Housing Blueprint Commitment to Fill Critical Need for Medically-Frail New Yorkers Experiencing Homelessness

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Health + Hospitals CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz today announced an expansion to its medical respite bed program, which offers patients experiencing homelessness a place to stay for up to 90 days after a major health event, in addition to expanded medical services that are not available in shelter. The 24 additional beds will serve 100 more patients each year, connecting medically-frail New Yorkers experiencing homelessness with critical care, including connecting them to medical professionals who offer services such as wound care, wellness checks, and physical therapy. During their stay in medical respite facilities, New Yorkers will also receive intensive housing case management to help them identify future housing options. 

“Our administration is focused on making New York a safer, more affordable city that is the best place to live. To do that, we must ensure that the needs of medically-vulnerable New Yorkers who are experiencing homelessness are being met, and these medical respite beds will help ensure that they are given a safe place to heal while also being connected to housing resources,” said Mayor Adams. “This program is at the intersection of our administration’s most powerful work — ensuring New Yorkers are safe, healthy, and on a pathway to stable and affordable housing. I thank NYC Health + Hospitals for delivering compassionate and life-changing care to those most-in-need.”

“Medical respite has been an extraordinarily useful tool to care for our patients experiencing homelessness, who are ready to be discharged from the hospital but still need additional support that they can’t receive in the shelter,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Katz, MD. “We can safely discharge these patients knowing they have somewhere safe to heal and recover, where their medical and behavioral health needs will be taken care of. This program has a powerful impact on our patients’ lives and their health.”

NYC Health + Hospitals’ medical respite provides patients with short-term housing and access to home-based clinical services, including wound care, oxygen, IV infusion, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. Additionally, patients receive medically-tailored meals, medication monitoring, coordination of and transportation to medical appointments, and intensive housing case management. Studies show that patients discharged from hospitals to respite have better health outcomes compared to those discharged to shelter directly. Furthermore, by offering a place to recuperate with access to medical services, the respite program shortens patients’ hospital stays, frees up acute care beds for patients with critical needs, and offers a more supportive setting for patients to recover in their communities.

Through the end of 2024, NYC Health + Hospitals’ medical respite program has served over 1,400 patients. Nearly 360 patients have been discharged from respite into stable housing, including supportive and affordable housing, allowing them to reunite with their families, and in some cases, secure assisted living placements. The majority of the remaining patients were connected to New York City Department of Homeless Services’ shelters and safe havens with appropriate services, while some returned to the hospital or other interim living arrangements. Currently, medical respite is fully funded by NYC Health + Hospitals, which is the largest provider of medical respite in New York state. With this expansion, the city’s health system now has a total of 75 medical respite beds — 50 beds operated by the Comunilife.

This expansion delivers on a commitment made in Mayor Adams’ housing plan, “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness,” as well as NYC Health + Hospitals Housing for Health initiative to connect patients experiencing homelessness to stable, affordable housing. This initiative seeks to improve New Yorkers’ health and wellbeing by focusing on four strategic areas: navigation services, medical respite beds, affordable housing on hospital property, and social service support for patients in permanent housing. In 2024, NYC Health + Hospitals provided care for over 80,000 patients experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, including over 17,000 children. Adults experiencing homelessness have three times more hospital and emergency department visits than the general population. In addition to improving participants’ lives by finding them housing, Housing for Health has seen an initial reduction in the average length of hospitalization and a reduction in inpatient and emergency department visits for patients who have been stably housed.

Following up on the 2025 State of the City, Mayor Adams recently announced unprecedented action to curb street homelessness and support people experiencing severe mental illness with a $650 million investment in outreach, safe haven and runaway homeless youth beds, and more. The announcement also included the creation of “Bridge to Home,” a first-of-its-kind model that will provide a supportive, home-like environment to patients with serious mental illness who are ready for discharge from the hospital but do not have a place to go.

“Housing for Health is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve even more patients with this expansion and better meet the high demand for medical respite,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Assistant Vice President of Housing and Real Estate Leora Jontef. “We’ve seen just how valuable respite can be in a patient’s care, connecting them to needed clinical services and discharging to permanent housing whenever possible. We’re grateful to have partners like ICL to help make this expansion happen.”

“At ICL, we know that stable housing is foundational to positive health outcomes,” said Judy Rudin, president and CEO, Institute for Community Living. “The expansion of medical respite means that more New Yorkers experiencing homelessness have a safe place to heal while receiving the care they need. We are proud to partner with NYC Health + Hospitals to support patients on their path to recovery and permanent housing.”

Additional Housing for Health Strategies

Housing Navigation Services: NYC Health + Hospitals supports eligible patients to access and apply for supportive, affordable, and market-rate housing, as well as obtain rental subsidies. The housing navigator also accompanies them on apartment viewings and provides support to help them settle into their new homes. This resource is vital to navigating the complex New York City housing landscape.

Dedicate NYC Health + Hospitals Land for Affordable and Supportive Housing: NYC Health + Hospitals leases land for supportive and affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers, including seniors and those formerly experiencing homelessness. Housing for Health plans to leverage additional land to create nearly 650 new affordable homes near NYC Health + Hospitals resources to deliver continuity of care for vulnerable New Yorkers.

Support Services in Permanent Housing: NYC Health + Hospitals funds on-site social services to help patients stabilize and thrive in their new housing environment. The social service organization provides individualized support to ease the transition from homelessness to permanent housing, assistance with accessing benefits, connections to local food pantries and employment services, and continued care coordination.

“The medical respite program was a big steppingstone for me,” said Sean Patrick Kupisz, medical respite patient. “After spending two months in the hospital, medical respite provided the support I needed to manage my medications, keep my appointments, and stabilize my health. I had the opportunity to regain my independence.”