{"id":121318,"date":"2020-06-23T10:06:43","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T20:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=121318"},"modified":"2020-07-02T08:28:34","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T18:28:34","slug":"uh-helps-shelter-homeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/06\/23\/uh-helps-shelter-homeless\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> helps shelter homeless, provide services during COVID-19<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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In its first two months of operation, the state\u2019s first temporary quarantine and isolation center (TQIC<\/abbr>) in Honolulu has provided a place for more than 50 homeless individuals who have COVID-19<\/abbr> symptoms to safely isolate or quarantine while they wait for test results.<\/p>\n

Public, private and non-profit organizations and agencies formed the Behavioral Health and Homelessness Statewide Unified Response Group (BHHSURG<\/abbr>) with the support of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/a>, to break down silos and to ensure the community\u2019s most vulnerable receive the care they need, especially during the COVID-19<\/abbr> pandemic.<\/p>\n

The Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Department of Health has operated the TQIC<\/abbr> with a number of community partners, including the Institute for Human Services; the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Homeless Healthcare Hui; Local 5, the union that represents hospitality, healthcare and food service workers; and others. Collectively, the groups provided the necessary human resources support, including healthcare professionals, case managers and round-the-clock security for the center to open its doors in late March.<\/p>\n

As a result, the center has been able to free up hospital space to improve care capacity, save on medical costs, and keep the community protected from potentially infected individuals.<\/p>\n

According to a recent report prepared by the Department of Health and the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Office of Public Health Studies<\/a>, data collected from clients at the center has also proven that such a facility has been effective in tackling a deeper, more pervasive challenge: the need for a behavioral health crisis stabilization center to take care of the health and social needs of homeless individuals, including those with substance use disorder.<\/p>\n

“The population we serve is often marginalized but the services we provide are vitally important to the overall health and wellbeing of our entire community, and is a necessary component to safely reopening our state,” said Edward Mersereau, the Department of Health\u2019s deputy director of behavioral health.<\/p>\n

Mersereau said unsheltered individuals generally have other chronic, pre-existing health conditions such as undiagnosed or unmanaged diabetes and heart disease and have a disproportionately high rate of behavioral health conditions, including substance use disorders. This makes their care more complex, requiring an interdisciplinary approach.<\/p>\n

“Through our work at UH<\/abbr> on analytics, evaluation and the CARES Line, we are grateful for the opportunity for UH<\/abbr> to partner with DOH<\/abbr> on this proof of concept of a behavioral health crisis stabilization center which has the potential to save the state the large medical and economic costs of behavioral health crises,” said Victoria Fan<\/strong>, a UH<\/abbr> Mānoa associate professor in the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more see the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Department of Health website<\/a>.<\/p>\n