Following its official opening by the Ministers for Health and Homelessness recently, the new East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) Medical Respite Centre welcomed its first residents this morning.
As highlighted across a range of media outlets on the day of the opening, the centre sets a new benchmark for providing safe, on-site, post-acute medical care for people experiencing homelessness after a hospital presentation or admission. Watch Channel 9’s news story here.
For Susan Mylne, Executive Director of Clinical Service Strategy and Population Health at EMHS, the opening of a permanent location for the centre, in Carlisle, represents the culmination of a successful pilot program that was run out of leased premises in Northbridge. The pilot confirmed the wide range of benefits to patients and the community, associated with operating a Medical Respite Centre.
As with the arrangement at the Northbridge premises, the service will be run by a consortium of non-government organisations (NGO) - Homeless Healthcare, Ruah Community Services and Uniting WA, under the management of EMHS.
Homeless Health Care Chief Executive Officer Alison Sayer said she was pleased to welcome five residents into the new 20-bed facility this morning.
“It is a lovely space - light, bright and airy,” she said.
“We are gradually moving resident from Northbridge to Carlisle and can’t wait to be operating fully from our new permanent home.”