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Hospital Works To Find Balance Between Patient Care And Patient Housing

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9min 02sec
Denver Health Medical Center on S. Federal Blvd.
David Zalubowski/AP
A patient checks in at the desk in Denver Health Medical Center’s primary care clinic located in a low-income neighborhood in southwest Denver, March 9, 2017.

Hospitals can’t discharge patients who don’t have a safe place to go. It’s a matter of ethics and also the law. In that case, they stay in the hospital, where it can cost thousands of dollars per night. One Colorado hospital is trying something new. Denver Health will provide affordable housing units to help vulnerable patients transition from hospital to home. Could it become a model for other care facilities? Peg Burnette, Denver Health’s Chief Financial Officer, offers her perspective.