Los Angeles County has opened 250 additional recuperative care beds this year to help the homeless, according to an article on the SCTV website.

These new beds bring the total to 432 for the Measure H-funded Homeless Initiative. The intiative’s goals include improving health outcomes for the homeless and reducing utilization of hospital emergency services.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Campus in South L.A. houses one of 12 recuperative care sites, run with a variety of partners, that provide transitional ‘respite’ care for homeless patients with complex health and behavioral health conditions who are discharged by County-run and private hospitals or exiting custody facilities. 

The 100-bed MLK Recuperative Care Center, opened in January 2016, takes in about 600 homeless patients a year. In addition to temporary housing, they receive round-the-clock care, including nursing, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatments, life skills classes, and other services.

Read the article.