Recuperative Care and Housing

Finding a home for those in need

Jonathan found himself homeless after the death of a sibling. He struggled with mental illness as well as the stress of a recent colostomy placement.

Not originally from York, Jonathan was discharged from the hospital to LifePath Men's Shelter in York, far from his established social and medical support system in Lebanon.

LifePath realized Jonathan was struggling with his new environment and needed a higher level of health-care support, so they referred him to the Arches to Wellness program at the LifePath Shelter.

The Arches care team identified Jonathan’s risks for hospital readmission. They focused efforts on his recuperative care needs, including mental health stability, education with colostomy bag management and his social determinants of health.

During his stay, Jonathan worked alongside the Arches social worker on a care plan including:

securing appointments with several WellSpan primary and specialty care providers
applying for and receiving Social Security income
enrolling in a transportation assistance program
obtaining permanent housing through the YMCA

Jonathan’s social worker also helped him connect to Oasis House, a program within York County’s Bell Socialization Services, where individuals with mental health diagnoses can receive ongoing resources. Jonathan now lives in his own room at the YMCA Men’s shelter and is feeling optimistic for his future.

Recuperative care and housing programs

This recuperative care program supports patients who require a short-term place to heal. This 30- to 45-day program addresses medical and social complexities while offering shelter, basic necessities and access to community resources.

Arches supports more than 100 patients annually, leasing beds for patients in partnering shelters and personal care homes. The program has shown an 80 percent reduction in emergency department visits, and 71 percent of program participants are connected to permanent housing.

This partnership with local nursing facilities supports patients who are identified in an acute or community setting as requiring skilled nursing care. The program walks alongside nursing facilities to break down social barriers as well as address financial barriers to obtain a long-term payor and plan for the patient's health-care journey. This program currently supports close to 100 patients annually by connecting them to short- or long-term rehab, when their social concerns would have otherwise been a barrier.

WellSpan has been a longstanding partner to Alliance for Low-income Personal Care Home Advancement (ALPHA). This initiative garners local and state support for low-income personal care homes (PCHs) across the state.

ALPHA's mission is to keep these small PCHs for low-income individuals open and operating, so that older Pennsylvanians and individuals with physical disabilities can age with the dignity, respect and security they deserve.

Since 2008, half of Pennsylvania's PCHs have closed, and COVID-19 has further devastated these facilities. Many PCH residents have lived in their facility for at least 15 years and have nowhere else to live.

In 2021 and 2022, ALPHA's advocacy at the local and state levels helped in securing a $20 million annual increase for PCH residents, increasing the rate by $7.50 to $45.80 per day per resident. This directed $1,330,425 in funding to the 25 PCHs of Adams, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties. ALPHA credits this success to expanding its advocacy base by 220 supporters, an increase of 488 percent.

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Finding a home for those in need

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