The Deborah Smith Walsh Recuperative Care Center (“RCC”) provides short-term, residential care to people who are homeless and sick, but not sick enough to be in a hospital.
This program provides guests with much-needed care at a critical time in their rehabilitation, and an alternative to trying to recuperate on the streets. The Center staff will identify clients who are unconnected to care and have a history of multiple emergency department visits. By coordinating medical care, short-term residential care, and other services, the RCC provides a vital service to support medically and psychiatrically complex homeless adults.
Mission: To provide short term medical respite care and coordination of services to medically complex and housing insecure adults in the Lynn area.
Vision: RCC Staff are dedicated to judgement-free care, addressing barriers to wellness and providing the highest quality health care to our city’s most resilient population.
RCC offers walk-in services including:
- Shower
- Clinical Care
- Case Management
- Toiletries
How the RCC Began
The Deborah Smith Walsh Recuperative Care Center grew out of Lynn Community Health Center’s Medical Outreach Program and a clear need in the community: people experiencing homelessness needed more than street-based care. They needed a safe, stable place to rest, heal, and address medical needs that were too complex for recovery on the streets, but did not require a hospital stay.
The work began in 2013, when Lynn Community Health Center started building a program to support people experiencing homelessness in Lynn. Early outreach focused on walking the streets, listening to people’s stories, problem-solving in real time, and building trust with both community partners and the people being served.
As those relationships grew, so did the vision for a freestanding medical respite program rooted in dignity, access, and compassion. With support from community partners including the Lynn Health Task Force, My Brother’s Table, Mass General Brigham, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Bridgewell, and later LifeBridge of the North Shore, the program officially opened in 2018 with ten beds.
Today, the RCC has grown into a 20-bed program with an expanded team and a street medicine license that allows care to reach people where they are, including soup kitchens, single-room occupancies, home visits, and the streets. The program continues to reflect a simple belief: healthcare should adapt to people’s realities, not the other way around.
”When we meet people where they are, truly listen, and commit to walking alongside them, healing becomes possible.
Looking to refer to the Deborah Smith Walsh Recuperative Care Center?
Are you a health care facility and/or a social service agency?
Complete our online referral form below or download the pdf to print out.
Required
Hear from our Recuperative Care Center staff
Hear from past patients of the Recuperative Care Center
Recuperative Care Center FAQ’s
What is the RCC?
The RCC is a medical respite facility. We provide short term medical and recuperative care services to men and women in the Lynn area who do not require hospital level of care but are too sick to tolerate the stress of life in shelters or on the street. The RCC program uses an integrated care model with community members.
What services are offered at the RCC?
Guests that are staying at the RCC will be seen by a team that includes medical providers and case managers. Guests will be seen by a medical provider each day and assigned a case manager. There is 24/7 staff coverage. There are also behavioral services, support groups, health education, discharge planning, benefits management, and housing case management. Guests are provided all meals.
Does the RCC accept guests that are on methadone?
If a guest is taking methadone for a substance use disorder, he/she must be enrolled in a methadone treatment program in which they are able to set up transportation to and from the treatment program. We require the confirmation form and a last dose letter be completed by the referring agency for all guests on MAT.
What are the main criteria for patients to receive care at the RCC?
A guest must have an acute medical problem and be medically and psychiatrically stable to be managed in a group setting. Guests must need short term care and be independent with ADL’s. Guest must be able to ambulate independently (may use adaptive equipment). Guests must have a tie to the Lynn area.
Can the RCC accept a patient on IV antibiotics?
The RCC program does not have medical staff on site 24/7 and therefore we are unable to accept guests on IV medications.
What is the referral process like?
- Guests are admitted Monday-Friday between 9am-2pm from hospitals, shelters, and clinics. Guests cannot self-refer.
- If you are making a referral from either a medical or non-medical site, please complete the referral form along with the two way release of information
- The RCC program team will review the referral Monday -Friday and determine if guest is eligible for RCC services
- An acceptance or denial form will be sent to referring party
The RCC’s clinical team, the “Medical Outreach Program,” provides compassionate and persistent mobile health care services to people experiencing homelessness.
The RCC’s Street Outreach program “goes to the people”! We work closely with organizations like My Brother’s Table to identify and support those who need our services. Our team holds clinic hours at My Brother’s Table.
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