The Importance of Advocacy: How to Ensure Fair Treatment When You’re Told to Move Out
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May 08, 2024
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By Mary Day
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If you live in a nursing home or assisted living facility and they say you must move out, they must provide a written notice to leave the facility. This is called an involuntary discharge. This happens frequently and is the most common complaint to the ombudsman’s office. The nursing home can ask a resident to leave for six legitimate reasons, such as if the home can no longer meet the resident’s needs or if the resident stops paying. The reason must be included in the written notice, along with instructions on how to appeal the decision. Except in emergencies, the notice must give you thirty days to leave.
Every resident has the right to a safe and orderly discharge. The nursing home is responsible for finding an appropriate location for the resident to move to. If the resident still requires nursing home level of care, the social worker at their current nursing home will find an available room at another nursing home. If the resident’s condition has improved and they have a home to return to in the community, the nursing home or assisted living facility needs to ensure that the resident has grab bars or other assistive devices they may need, as well as arrange for home-based physical or occupational therapy if ordered by a physician.
