For patients experiencing homelessness, leaving the hospital can be one of the most vulnerable moments in the healing journey. A safe bed, a clean place to rest, and support with medications or follow-up care can make the difference between recovery and a return to the emergency room.
Through its partnership with RecoveryWorks, Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital is helping close that gap by funding respite beds for patients who are not ready to recover on the street but no longer need hospital-level care.
RecoveryWorks, a Jefferson County nonprofit founded in 2021, provides housing, recovery, healthcare and supportive services for unhoused adults. At its Lakewood site, a renovated former motel now known as Mountain View Flats, the organization offers bridge housing, addiction recovery support and a nationally certified medical respite program.
The respite program gives people leaving the hospital a medically supported room for up to 30 days, along with meals, case management, counseling, laundry, showers and help transitioning to permanent housing.
Through a contract for two beds each month, Lutheran social workers and discharge planners can refer eligible patients experiencing homelessness to the program. For these patients, respite care creates a bridge between the hospital and the next stage of recovery. Instead of being discharged to the street, where infections can worsen, and healing is often interrupted, they have a place to rest, recover, and begin building a path toward greater stability.
The model is simple, but the impact is significant. Patients referred for respite must be experiencing homelessness and have an acute medical condition that can reasonably improve within 30 days or less. During that time, they are surrounded by comprehensive support designed not only to help them heal physically, but also to connect them with longer-term care and resources.
That support includes collaboration with STRIDE Community Health Center, which provides on-site care and ongoing access to health services. For many guests, the respite stay becomes more than just a recovery period after hospitalization. It can also be the beginning of a different relationship with the healthcare system. Instead of relying on the emergency department as a primary source of care, patients can be connected with preventive and primary care that supports better long-term health.
Felix’s story shows how critical it is for patients experiencing homelessness to have a safe place to discharge after a hospital stay. After surviving a violent assault and traumatic brain injury, Felix spent more than two months recovering in the hospital before being referred to RecoveryWorks’ medical respite program. There, he found more than a place to rest. He found stability, compassion, and the support he needed to continue healing physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
With help from RecoveryWorks, Felix began rebuilding his life — accessing housing support, workforce training, vital documents and consistent encouragement from a team that cared about his future. Today, he is working, preparing for medical billing training and reconnecting with family. His journey is a powerful reminder that recovery does not end at hospital discharge. For patients without stable housing, a safe place to heal can be the bridge between crisis and a second chance.
“RecoveryWorks is intentionally designed to meet people where they are,” said James Ginsburg, executive director of RecoveryWorks. “We use a trauma-informed, person-centered approach that recognizes the realities many people experiencing homelessness face. Many are recovering not only from an illness or injury, but also from trauma and the effects of homelessness. That’s why we focus on caring for the whole person.”
Guests can stay with pets, couples can stay together, and there are no arbitrary time limits in the bridge housing program. That flexibility, paired with 24/7 support and comprehensive services, helps create a sense of safety and dignity that is often necessary before true healing can begin.
Since its inception, RecoveryWorks has served more than 1,500 people in Jefferson County.
“For Lutheran, the partnership reflects a broader commitment to caring for the whole person, including what happens after discharge,” said Chuck Ault, Intermountain Health Community Health program manager. “For patients, it means something even more immediate: the chance to leave the hospital with dignity, continue healing in a safe place and begin moving toward a more stable future.”
To learn more about RecoveryWorks visit https://recoveryworkstoday.org/.
