For three years, Roberto D. lived at a Bronx Nursing Home. He first entered the nursing home as a short-term rehabilitation patient. Due to his various illnesses, he did not respond to rehab. At that point, he was accepted as a long-term care resident. Although he was no longer a rehab patient, he remained in the same room and on the rehab floor for the entire three years. Medicaid was the primary payer for Roberto.
At one point the nursing home decided that they wanted to expand their short-term rehab program because of the higher reimbursement that Medicare pays (twice as much as Medicaid).
The facility wanted Roberto out. They asked his son to remove him to another facility. They did not provide any notice as required by law. When Roberto was told that he had to leave, he became very agitated and his heart began to palpitate. He was rushed to the hospital. After a two-day stay in the hospital he returned to the facility.
He became depressed and increasingly fearful that he would be thrown out into the street. He stayed up at night.
Roberto’s case was referred to Jack Halpern and My Elder Advocate. His son called My Elder Advocate to try and find him another facility. Jack assured him that it was illegal to remove his dad from his present facility and that it would be impossible to find his dad another facility. He also cautioned that a move could kill Roberto.
After the family retained Jack, he went to Roberto’s facility to meet with the facility’s administrator. Citing specific precedents and laws, he informed the administrator why any attempt to move Roberto to another facility would constitute an “unsafe discharge” and was illegal under Federal and State regulations.
The administrator quickly relented and informed My Elder Advocate that Roberto was “Welcome to stay at the facility as long as he wished.”
