Failure to Provide Required 30‑Day Written Discharge Notice
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide a required 30‑day written discharge notice to a resident prior to discharge. The resident had been admitted for rehab with diagnoses including failure to thrive, a right renal mass, and chronic diastolic congestive heart failure, and was documented as alert and oriented with adequate insight and judgment at admission. Subsequent hospital medicine notes described a markedly prolonged admission due to profound debility, need for 24/7 assistance, and inability to safely discharge home, with ongoing transitional care and long‑term placement planning. An interdisciplinary team conference documented that the resident was 100% incontinent of bowel and bladder, unable to perform toileting, and required maximum assistance with feeding, grooming, dressing, bathing, and transfers. A social worker note showed that case management emailed the resident’s responsible party proposing a specific discharge date to the responsible party’s home with home health. The responsible party replied by email stating they did not appreciate the discharge date being pushed onto them and that a 30‑day discharge notice needed to be presented to the resident and/or family. The resident was discharged on a date earlier than the proposed discharge date, and interviews with the responsible party, the social worker, and the DON confirmed that no 30‑day written discharge notice was provided to the resident or responsible party. The DON also stated that the facility’s policy did not mention the 30‑day written discharge notice and that they were not aware of this regulation.
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