February COTS’ Collective.
Expanding Recuperative Care – Expanding Healthcare Access for Sonoma County:
For the past two years, COTS has worked tirelessly to identify and secure funding to expand our Recuperative Care program in Petaluma. This expansion, which increases our capacity to serve from 6 to 20 beds, makes a significant stride in addressing the pressing needs of unsheltered individuals within our community. This expansion isn’t just about adding more capacity; it’s about extending a lifeline to those who find themselves on the margins, offering not just shelter, but a pathway to recovery and stability.
Recuperative Care is a medical program that offers a safe, clean environment to hospital patients who are ready to exit from the hospital, but who do not have a home in which to heal. These additional beds serve as a bridge between hospital stays and returning to the streets, ensuring that individuals have the support they require to heal properly, and an opportunity to access various housing opportunities after their stay in the COTS Recuperative Care program.
Homelessness can be an incredibly isolating experience, exacerbating feelings of alienation and hopelessness. However, within the walls of Recuperative Care, individuals find a supportive environment where they are treated with dignity and respect. By expanding the facility, we’re creating space for more individuals to experience this sense of community, forging connections that can be instrumental in their journey towards stability and permanent housing.
This expansion also reduces strain on emergency services and hospitals—saving our community hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency care each year. Without access to adequate shelter and healthcare, many unsheltered individuals resort to using emergency rooms as their primary source of medical care. Not only is this costly for hospitals, but it also diverts resources away from those who require urgent attention. By expanding Recuperative Care, we’re helping to alleviate this strain, ensuring that individuals receive the appropriate level of care in a more cost-effective and sustainable manner.
COTS is proud of this expansion and is proud to offer accessible options to everyone in our community. Expanding Recuperative Care from 6 beds to 20 beds is a testament to our commitment to serving the most vulnerable members of our community. It’s a tangible step towards creating a more inclusive and compassionate society, where everyone can rebuild their lives and realize their full potential. COTS envisions a community where everyone has a place to call home.
We invite you to support us by donating to our critical work, or through one or more of our volunteer opportunities. Learn more about supporting COTS by visiting www.cots.org.
Until Next Time,
Chris Cabral, CEO
This month, COTS’ Legacy Society joined us at the Mary Isaak Center to get an insider’s look at our Recuperative Care expansion. Thank you to those of you who were able to attend!
If you would like more information on supporting COTS through a legacy, contact your financial planner or our Director of Development at [email protected] or (707) 765-6530 x126.
Above: COTS would like to thank the Legacy Society members for attending and ensuring that we will be there to help our neighbors in need for generations to come.
In 2014, COTS identified a new need facing the community. After being discharged, our neighbors experiencing homelessness needed a safe space to continue their healing journeys for injuries, illnesses, surgeries, etc. With continuous care, these individuals could heal well and reduce the number of returns to the hospital or calls for emergency services.
COTS created a 4-bed respite unit that supported the community until 2017, when the unit had to close indefinitely. In 2020, the respite unit was reopened under the name of the Recuperative Care Unit (RC) and now had 6 beds. This unit continues to serve clients today with medical transportation, appointments, care, and other medical related needs.
Last year, Recuperative Care’s 6 bed unit served 50 individual clients, with 80% of them not returning to the hospital and 92% of them transitioning to the Mary Isaak Center, assisted living, or housing.
With a large growth in seniors experiencing homelessness and those experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives, COTS will expand the Recuperative Care unit from 6 beds to 20 this year!