Improper Emergency Discharge and Refusal to Readmit Resident
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to ensure an appropriate and safe transfer/discharge for a resident when they discharged the resident to a hospital and refused to allow the resident to return. Record review showed the resident had been admitted to the facility in early February and was discharged to the hospital on 02/23/26. On 3/3/26 at 11:52 A.M., staff documented in the progress notes that they spoke with the resident’s guardian regarding a notice of immediate discharge because the facility could no longer meet the resident’s needs, and an Immediate Discharge Notice dated 3/3/26 indicated the resident would discharge to the hospital. The facility did not have a policy for emergency discharge, and the administrator stated on 3/3/26 at 10:09 A.M. that the resident would not be accepted back due to safety concerns for other residents and acknowledged awareness that the hospital was not an acceptable discharge location. The care plan coordinator reported emailing the hospital social worker to inform them that the facility would not accept the resident back, effectively using the hospital as the resident’s discharge destination without appropriate notice or planning to meet the resident’s needs and preferences for a safe transfer/discharge. These actions and omissions, including the lack of an emergency discharge policy, the issuance of an immediate discharge notice listing the hospital as the discharge location, and the administrator’s refusal to readmit the resident, led to the deficiency related to failure to provide an appropriate emergency discharge notice and to ensure the transfer/discharge met the resident’s needs and preferences.
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