During the five years Tony Price roamed the streets and dozed in doorways, the emergency rooms of Sacramento’s hospitals were a regular place for him to sleep off a hard day’s drinking.
“A lot of times I would pass out, and then I’d wake up in the hospital,” said Price, 50.
About two or three times a month, he would show up at a local emergency department. Sometimes doctors hydrated him with intravenous fluids and sent him on his way. Other times, they kept him a night or two.
“I’m kind of ashamed to say this, but sometimes it was just cold, and I [got] drunk,” Price said. “I just want[ed] to be warm and safe.”
Hospitals in Sacramento, Calif., and around the country are taking steps to help homeless people find housing. Doing so, they say, will limit unnecessary ER visits and reduce wasteful health care spending. It also helps nonprofits such as San Francisco-based Dignity Health, Orlando-based Florida Hospital and Providence Health & Services in Portland, Ore., meet their community service obligations in exchange for tax breaks.
[For more on this story by Pauline Bartolone , go to https://khn.org/news/hospitals...t-make-a-difference/]
Photo: Tony Price's cat, rescued from a shelter, helps alleviate his anxiety. His mental health has improved now that he is no longer homeless. (Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio)
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