MEDICAL RESPITE & SOBERING CENTER

The Medical Respite and Sobering Center is a partnership between CATS and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) which provides approximately 60 respite beds (co-located with a 12-bed sobering center), and temporary housing with medically oriented support services for medically frail, homeless persons leaving San Francisco General Hospital or other neighboring clinics. The Center also includes a full-service kitchen providing three hot meals per day and prepares special menus for any dietary needs of the clients. Medical Respite provides an important alternative to costly emergency care and also links individuals to longer-term residential options. While DPH provides all of the medical services, CATS provides quality supportive services for the respite clients and staff, including one-to-one support, client transportation, social and educational activities and janitorial services.   The target popluation are intoxicated clients from the streets and emergency departments by ambulance, police, and MAP (Mobile Assistant Patrol), a program of CATS.  Furthermore, the impact on people using the sobering center "has been substantial," as written in the San Francisco Medicine journal published by the San Francisco Medical Society (SFMS). 

Yvette Blair, Program Director



» CLICK HERE to read the SFMS article written by Shannon Smith-Bernardin, RN, MSN, CNL and Michelle Schneidermann, MD of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH).