Keith, a 58-year-old patient with congestive heart failure and asthma, faced a challenge after being discharged from NYU Langone Health: he needed a safe place to recover. After receiving care at the hospital, Keith could not return to his previous living situation in a men’s shelter, where managing his new medication regimen and diet would have been difficult.
To address situations like Keith’s, NYU Langone launched a medical respite program in February 2025. This initiative is run in partnership with Comunilife, a nonprofit organization providing transitional and supportive housing in New York City. The program aims to offer patients stable housing and access to social services while freeing up hospital beds for those who need acute care.
NYU Langone leases beds through Comunilife, which operates approximately 3,000 units of various types of housing. The respite beds are located in upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Unlike shelters, these facilities provide private or shared rooms with private bathrooms. NYU Langone pays an annual rate for reserved beds and can lease additional beds as needed.
Without this program, Keith said he would have returned to the men’s shelter, which he described as “horrific for me.” He added, “Right now, my mindset is just finding somewhere to live and adjust to my illness and make everyone laugh. I want to stay in high spirits, so I try to lift everyone with me.”
NYU Langone reports that the number of patients experiencing housing instability has risen significantly. On its Manhattan campus alone, documented cases increased from about 240 per month in January 2023 to over 400 per month by September 2025—a rise of more than 65 percent.
Michelle Romano, director of Social Work and Care Management Services for Adults at NYU Langone, observed this trend early on. “We are seeing more and more patients who are medically ready to leave the hospital and who want to get back to their lives in the community, but without a place to stay that is conducive to their recovery,” Romano said. She explained that some patients require ongoing medical support—such as wound care or infusion medications—that cannot be managed without stable housing.
Arielle Bonne, manager of social work at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, highlighted the risks: “When we discharge people to less-than-ideal healing conditions, they have a much greater chance of coming back to the emergency department in worse shape.”
Beverly Raudales, chief program officer at Comunilife and an early proponent of medical respite care in New York City, identified three main groups who remain hospitalized longer than necessary: those lacking suitable housing for mobility needs; those needing medical care not available in shelters; and those without any housing connections.
At Comunilife units used by NYU Langone’s program, each patient is assigned both a counselor for care coordination and a housing navigator focused on securing long-term solutions. Dr. Raudales noted that weekly meetings between discharge teams from both organizations help coordinate care effectively. “Something really impactful about our partnership is that the program maintains weekly meetings between NYU Langone’s discharge team and Comunilife staff,” she said.
The program also assists patients with administrative tasks such as obtaining Social Security cards or applying directly for apartments—opportunities often out of reach otherwise. Dr. Raudales said: “Patients have the opportunity to go somewhere where you have a dedicated team that pays attention to what you need to move forward with your life. We help them apply directly to apartments that normally they would have to be on waitlists for years to get into.”
Comunilife reports that 62 percent of people served through medical respite are connected successfully with permanent or supportive housing options after an average stay of 48 days.
Medical respite programs like this one are gaining popularity because they can reduce hospital admissions and readmissions while improving health outcomes among vulnerable populations.
Romano recalled helping one man transition out of hospital care after his sister could no longer manage his needs at home: “Within months, he went to look at apartments… They got him food stamps. He’s getting a power wheelchair… Without respite it is hard to say where he or his sister would be today,” she said.
Dr. Raudales urged consideration of costs associated with unnecessary hospital stays versus investing in respite beds: “How many beds are occupied unnecessarily by patients who are stable but don’t have housing? Compare that to the cost of a respite bed…”
For participants like Keith, the focus remains on moving forward: “My only focus right now is to get a place to stay … My mind is focused.”
