A new partnership between Eugene transitional housing community Everyone Village and PeaceHealth will provide meals, peer support and a safe place for people living on the street to recover from surgery.
The project will have 10 recuperation cottages and an onsite primary care clinic that will care for those staying in the cottage, and long-term Everyone Village residents.
PeaceHealth Director of Community Health Susan Blane said the hospital system currently has programs to make sure people don’t end up back on the street after surgery, but partnering with Everyone Village will increase the likelihood that patients attend their follow-up appointments and could lead to better, overall health outcomes.
"A recuperation cottage model is a little different from what we've done in the past,” Blane said. “We have always had wrap-around support services, but it's never been wrap-around services that involved the community too."
PeaceHealth will pay for operations and startup costs for the project. Blane said having regular access to a clinic and peer support should help patients avoid complications that might land them back in the emergency room.
“[We want] people to have the best possible outcomes they can from the conditions that they’re recuperating from,” Blane said.
Everyone Village Executive Director Gabe Piechowicz said his team asked current Everyone Village residents about their experiences recovering from illnesses and surgeries while homeless, and if they would support a clinic, and recovery beds next door. He said the entire village supported the project because many have had to recover outdoors in the past.
“One of our clients said the year before she landed in the village, she broke her femur,” Piechowicz said. “She had to go back to her tent with no support, no proper set up, no protection from the elements. … To have a place even for a month to recover would have changed everything for her.”
Piechowicz said people recovering from illness or surgery will also have access to the same services as longer term residents, such as case management and housing navigation.
"While they're here recovering, they'll spend some time with our staff and we will do our very best to prevent them from going back to the street once their recuperation time is up," Piechowicz said.
Onsite medical care will be provided by the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic and the cottages and clinic building were constructed by Eugene 4J School District students. Meals will be provided by youth organization Positive Community Kitchen.
Piechowicz said said he's hopeful once the clinic gets off the ground, it can be a resource for the surrounding community as well.
A grand opening celebration is scheduled for September.
