Connecticut Nursing Facility Residents Win Transfer/Discharge Appeals
Keywords
--In re Bridebrook Health & Rehab. Ctr., Admin. Hearings., Conn. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., May 19, 2008
--In re Haven Health Care Ctr., Admin. Hearings., Conn. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., Request #251051, May 16, 2008
In the Bridebrook case, the resident was discharged due to an emergency arising from a failed suicide attempt. Several days later, a physician noted that the resident had responded well to treatment, was no longer a danger, and was able to return back to facility care. Regardless, the facility sent a discharge notice to the resident’s wife, and then an amended notice with corrected appeal information. The amended notice was sent less than thirty days before the proposed discharge. The facility refused to re-admit the resident upon his non-emergency discharge from the hospital, and had not developed a discharge plan as required by Connecticut law.
In the Haven Health Care case, the resident’s sister and significant other received notice of discharge claiming that the health and safety of persons in the facility was threatened, the resident’s welfare could not be met at the facility, and (changing 180 degrees) the resident no longer required the services of a nursing facility. The notice came short of the thirty days required before discharge. A written addendum to the discharge plan was issued, but a written discharge plan was not issued. Moreover, the addendum was not signed by medical personnel. There was no evidence submitted to document any of the facility’s contentions, and a doctor opined that the resident’s health would deteriorate if she were discharged to her home.
In both cases, the decision rested partly on the facility’s failure to provide the resident with a copy of the discharge notice. The decisions also cited the facility’s failure to develop a discharge plan in non-emergency situations, or to deliver the notice thirty days before the proposed discharge. In the Haven Health case, no evidence was submitted to support the facility’s reasoning for discharge, and the resident’s health would have been jeopardized by the proposed transfer home.