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Center gives hospitalized homeless chance to recover

Record - 6/22/2017

June 22--STOCKTON -- Bob is homeless. Bob is 55. Last year, while living on the streets of Stockton, Bob had a stroke and was hospitalized.

When doctors determined Bob no longer required acute care provided him by the hospital, he was discharged. But where was he to go? Back to the streets?

"Maybe a park," said Bob, who doesn't use a last name and still suffers from some cognitive and communication problems. But he is being looked after now.

Bob is lucky enough to have gotten a bed at the Recuperative Care Center operated by Stockton's long-established Gospel Center Rescue Mission. It offers him a safe place to rest while recovering from his hospitalization.

"I'm pretty grateful to this place for accommodating me," he said.

Like Bob, Kevin Williams also is being helped by the RCC. The 60-year-old former apartment maintenance man had been living in his car for a year until this spring when he developed a nasty skin infection known as cellulitis.

After his hospitalization, Williams spent a month in a Stockton skilled nursing facility where he was able to continue rehabilitation therapy and his antibiotic regimen.

"After that, I had nowhere to go. My car was towed while I was in the hospital. I would have been on the street if it wasn't for this place," he said of the RCC, where he landed in early April after a social worker and his sister learned about it.

Starting today, more homeless men and women will have the opportunity to recuperate at the RCC.

While it previously operated with just seven beds, the Gospel Center Rescue Mission has renovated a previously unused building connected to its campus at 445 S. San Joaquin St. and can accommodate up to 22 people -- 11 men plus two optional beds and seven women with two overflow beds. Outside, plans call for a healing garden.

"This is the only facility of its kind in the county," Gospel Center Chief Executive Wayne Richardson said. And it serves a vital role in serving the health care needs of some of the most vulnerable.

"It is of critical importance to the county," according to Margaret Szczepaniak, assistant director of San Joaquin County Health Care Services.

"As you may be aware, placements for clients and patients leaving hospitals, rehabilitation centers or psychiatric facilities are at a premium. We are thrilled that they are expanding access to these types of beds in our community."

Most homeless shelters send their overnight guests out for the day, but people in recuperative care can stay in 24 hours and get three meals a day. While the actual care they receive is hands off, the RCC staff does ensure that residents get proper rest, have transportation to their follow-up medical appointments and take their prescription medications as prescribed. Think of it as what a family member might reasonably be expected to provide in a home setting.

Those things often prove quite difficult when you're living in a tent on the street.

RCC residents, according to center director Sandra Deaver, said residents also get help with case management.

"We assist them with gaining their identity back, since they often have no IDs that they need to re-establish (General Assistance). We strive to break the cycle of recidivism, end going back to the hospital," Deaver said.

And, she said, the discharge hospital still remains active in monitoring the after-care provided to its former patients at the RCC.

"We use a lot of detailed reporting and have quarterly meetings to talk about each (resident) referral," Deaver said.

Richardson, the CEO, said he wants to establish the expanded RCC "as a model for others to learn from -- for free. We want this to be a school to help others (homeless providers) around the country." And inquiries already are coming in, he said.

Patients that qualify for the RCC are individuals who have an identified acute illness, are medically stable, noncontagious, able to perform activities of daily living on their own, able to function in a drug-and-alcohol-free environment, and those that have enough medication for at least one week.

The operation of the RCC has been made possible through Gospel Center Rescue Mission's partnership with Dignity Health/St. Joseph's Medical Center, Health Plan of San Joaquin, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Central Valley Hospitals, San Joaquin General Hospital, and Gabe Sallah of Gabe's Welding.

Petra Stanton, director of St. Joseph's community health programs, said the expansion was needed. With limited beds, it meant the hospitals would have to keep patients in the hospital longer at greater cost.

"We know if they go back out living on the street, the recovery is not going to go as well as we hoped ... so now we can be assured that the care is ongoing," Stanton said.

The Recuperative Care Center will host a public ceremony marking the grand opening of its expansion at 3 p.m. today. Information: (209) 320-2310 or gcrms.org.

-- Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/goldeenblog and on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.

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