Nursing Homes Oust Unwanted Patients With Claims of Psychosis

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From The New York Times: “In a New York nursing home, a resident hurled a bingo chip. At a home in Georgia, a 46-year-old woman, paralyzed from the waist down, repeatedly complained that no one had changed her diaper. In a California facility, a patient threw tableware.

In all three cases, the nursing homes cited the incidents as a reason to send the residents to hospitals for psychiatric evaluations — and then to bar them from returning.

Across the United States, nursing homes are looking to get rid of unprofitable patients — primarily those who are poor and require extra care — and pouncing on minor outbursts to justify evicting them to emergency rooms or psychiatric hospitals. After the hospitals discharge the patients, often in a matter of hours, the nursing homes refuse them re-entry, according to court filings, government-funded watchdogs in 16 states, and more than 60 lawyers, nursing home employees and doctors.”

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2 COMMENTS

  1. “and pouncing on minor outbursts to justify evicting them to emergency rooms or psychiatric hospitals.”

    “a resident hurled a bingo chip.”

    This is NOT some minor outburst, there was someone waiting on one number for a full house. Know how to make 60 old ladies say Fuk? Shout BINGO lol

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    • LOL. I can’t wrap my head around the idea of anyone “hurling” a bingo chip. Seems to defy the laws of physics. Like hurling a feather.
      Jokes aside, though, this is terrifying and also unsurprising. I was sent to a nursing home/rehab after badly fracturing an ankle and requiring surgery. I was sent from the hospital post surgery to this nursing home and they discharged me to a third floor apartment where I lived alone months before I was allowed to put any weight on the injured foot. If I needed to leave the apartment I would have to crawl down the stairs. After they told me they were discharging me, I was terrified and stressed out because I knew I would be alone and trapped in that apartment and I was already afraid of my neighbors. Then the day before discharge they told me they were stopping my Dilaudid and Ativan which I’d been getting at high doses. They called it a taper but it was clearly not. It was cold turkey. I had an outburst which they said by law required them to call for an ambulance to take me back to the hospital where I had the surgery and where I’d already been abused, for a psych evaluation. I was kept overnight at this Hospital in the CIU. I explained the situation that led to my outburst and the nurse nodded but they didn’t do anything to help. In fact they made it worse. The next day I was discharged from that CIU and sent by ambulance once again back to the rehab / nursing home only for them to discharge me 2 hours later. The whole thing is a s*** show. I live in fear of the day I can’t take care of myself anymore. The day I came back to my apartment from the rehab, my neighbor called the police on me. She called 911 and said she heard arguing and gunshots in my apartment. I was there alone. What a nightmare.

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