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Mayor, providers mark opening of expanded medical respite and sobering services at Saint Anthony site
Summary
The city and nonprofit partners opened a consolidated medical respite and sobering center operated by CATS with funding and support from Kaiser and the Department of Public Health; the facility increases respite and sobering beds and is intended to better link hospitals, outreach and housing services.
San Francisco officials, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Department of Public Health leaders and nonprofit partners joined staff and donors on July 28 to open a consolidated medical respite and sobering program at 1171 Mission Street operated by Community Awareness & Treatment Services (CATS) in partnership with Saint Anthony Foundation and the Department of Public Health.
Facility and partners: The site combines medical respite beds and sobering center services. According to remarks at the opening, the location provides 42 respite beds and 12 sobering beds, expanding capacity and enabling coordination with hospital discharge planning. Mayor Gavin Newsom praised the public-private partnership, and Kaiser Foundation donated $250,000 toward the build-out.
Why it matters: Medical respite provides a place for uninsured or homeless patients to recover after hospital care without occupying an acute-care hospital bed. The sobering center provides a medically supervised alternative to emergency departments for individuals who need time and medical observation while intoxicated. City and nonprofit leaders said the combined model can reduce repeated emergency-room use and help connect people to housing and ongoing care.
Providers and officials: Mayor Gavin Newsom said the facility supports "pre-hospitalization" diversion and post-hospital respite and praised the cooperation of the Department of Public Health and nonprofit partners. Mark Trots (transcript: Mark Trotz) and Tewal (Taywall) Stanley from CATS were named in remarks as operational leads for medical respite and outreach; Barbara Garcia of the Department of Public Health spoke at the event. Christine Robich of Kaiser Permanente described Kaiser's contribution and the foundation's view that the center increases capacity and serves an important public-health role.
Client testimony: Two clients who used the respite services spoke at the event about their experiences, citing medical and social supports received while recuperating after hospital care.
Operational notes: CATS is operating administrative offices and mobile assistance patrol (MAP) and outreach for the program. City staff said the model emphasizes rapid connection to housing; the transcript records a figure that roughly 40% of respite clients later secured more stable housing through the city's housing pathways.
Ending: The opening reflects a broader city strategy of integrating health, outreach and housing services for people experiencing homelessness and complex health needs; city and nonprofit leaders said they expect the site to reduce hospital strain and improve transitions to permanent housing for some clients.
