Trinitas Regional Medical Center Is Addressing Homelessness and Getting Results

Since last winter, Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, has helped at least 11 unhoused individuals find permanent housing, not through a social services agency, but through its hospital lobby. A state-funded program, recently featured in the New Jersey Monitor, has transformed what was once an informal overnight drop-in situation into a structured pathway to shelter, services and lasting stability.

Shifting from Temporary Shelter to Lasting Change

Previously, people experiencing homelessness would drop in to the Trinitas lobby to stay warm on frigid nights. However, this temporary drop-in shelter status wasn’t ideal for anyone involved, including unhoused individuals, patients and hospital staff. The state-funded program provides more enduring solutions and allows clinicians to focus on patient care.

“It’s been a true game-changer for Trinitas,” Nancy DiLiegro, president and CEO of the hospital, told the Monitor.

Trinitas collaborated with the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless to create the shelter program, which helped shelter 52 people as of May 7, and eased strain on the hospital’s emergency department. Individuals experiencing homelessness are initially directed to short-term shelter (e.g., a motel room) and then connected to supportive services including health insurance. They also receive essential items like food, laundry cards and hygiene supplies.

In addition to that initiative, West Orange, New Jersey-based RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) — the hospital’s parent health system — launched New Jersey’s first “street medicine” program at Trinitas in May, extending treatment beyond the hospital’s walls and delivering care to unhoused individuals in Elizabeth. A highly trained medical team travels the city in a marked van and connects people in need with transportation, local clinics and health services.

“The Street Medicine Program advances RWJBarnabas Health’s mission of providing quality, compassionate and accessible care to the communities we serve,” said Balpreet Grewal-Virk, RWJBarnabas Health’s senior vice president of Community Health, in a press release. “Sending our team out into Elizabeth will be transformative, driving down mortality rates and improving health outcomes for patients in need. This impactful work would not be possible without the support of the State of New Jersey, and we are deeply grateful for that partnership.”

Broader Efforts to Create Healthy Communities

The efforts Trinitas is making to promote wellness beyond hospital walls are part of RWJBH’s “Our Healthy Communities” initiative.

“By addressing health care disparities at their root cause, RWJBarnabas Health has developed a strategy to proactively address the clinical and social factors that affect adverse health outcomes,” the Our Healthy Communities web page states. “We are committed to addressing the social determinants of health by making sustained investments in local programs and by strengthening crucial social and health care infrastructure.”

Following a pilot in Newark, the health system has scaled the project statewide and reinvested more than $151 million in New Jersey communities. It’s supported by state community health resources and partnerships with community leaders, faith-based partners and civic organizations.

In addition to the shelter and street medicine programs at Trinitas, Our Healthy Communities includes other efforts to connect vulnerable people with resources that support healthier lives. For example, the initiative fights food insecurity with “Food Farmacies” that offer healthy food and nutrition counseling; it also provides free transportation to patients in need via the health system’s fleet of vehicles and a rideshare partnership. Other recent efforts have included the following:

• A donation of $854,000 to Monmouth Family Health Center in June
• Opening the Harvest: Farm to Community Center in May
• Rolling out a mobile pediatric unit for Essex County in April

RWJBH also maintains a team of 90 community health workers who assist vulnerable individuals across various settings (e.g., emergency departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), homeless shelters and community centers) to reduce emergency department visits and readmissions and improve outcomes. Additionally, the health system partners with FQHCs across New Jersey to expand access to high-quality care.

The initiative demonstrates the potential impact of focused efforts to improve community health: So far, Our Healthy Communities has connected more than 39,000 patients with social and health resources through community health workers, distributed 1.7 million pounds of food and completed more than 157,000 free patient rides.

Hospitals Recognized for Tackling Homelessness and Improving Community Health

Trinitas and RWJBH aren't alone in this work. This year’s AHA Dick Davidson NOVA Award winners include Denver Health in Colorado, recognized for its Housing Outreach, Partnerships and Engagement (HOPE) program, and Jackson-Madison County General Hospital (JMCGH) in Tennessee, honored for its 25-year-old Collaborating to Address Homelessness program.