Understanding Nursing Home Discharge Requirements

The Notice Must Contain Details Regarding the Discharge

Residents and their representatives must receive the notice 30 days before the discharge date. The nursing home facility must include the following information in the notice:

• Reasons for transfer or discharge.
• Transfer or discharge date.
• The proposed new location for the resident.
• Information on the resident’s right to appeal, including how to obtain the appeal form and submit it.
• Contact information for the Office of Administrative Hearings and Appeals and the California Department of Public Health.
• Contact information for Disability Rights California for residents with developmental, intellectual, or mental disabilities.
• Statement permitting the resident to self-represent, use legal representation, or have another spokesperson appeal on their behalf.

If any items are missing from the notice, it is considered invalid, and the resident does not have to leave. Verbal discharges from nursing home staff members do not count as official discharges. Nursing homes may attempt to force out residents with verbal orders, threats, and harassment in a self-eviction attempt. Residents who receive verbal discharge instructions may ask for a written notice.

Are There Exceptions to the 30-Day Rule for a Notice of Discharge?

In California, nursing homes can provide reasonable advance notice of transfers and discharges in writing, except in emergency situations. Federal law allows notice to be given as soon as possible before the transfer or discharge, provided that the following conditions apply:

• The health and safety of the residents are at risk.
• An urgent medical need for the resident requires an immediate transfer.
• The resident’s health has improved to the point when the nursing facility can discharge or transfer them quickly.
• A resident has resided in the facility for fewer than 30 days.

Nursing home dumping may occur when a resident receives temporary treatment in the hospital and another resident takes over their bed. When the patient is released from the hospital and wants to return to the nursing home, the facility denies readmittance and sends them back to their families.

Nursing homes that dump residents violate federal and state laws regarding transfers and discharges. If a nursing home must discharge a resident, it must satisfy all discharge planning requirements to ensure the resident’s physical and emotional well-being.