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Consumer Voice's Robyn Grant Speaks About Transfer/Discharges in Assisted Living Facilities

September 06, 2018

Evictions top the list of grievances about assisted living received by long-term care ombudsmen across the U.S. In 2016, the most recent year for which data are available, 2,867 complaints of this kind were recorded. Often, there’s little that residents or their families can do about evictions. Assisted living is governed by states, and regulations tend to be loosely drafted, allowing facilities considerable flexibility in determining whom they admit as residents, the care they’re prepared to give and when an eviction is warranted, said Eric Carlson, directing attorney at Justice in Aging, a legal advocacy organization. While state regulations vary, evictions are usually allowed when a resident fails to pay facility charges, doesn’t follow a facility’s rules or becomes a danger to self or others; when a facility converts to another use or closes; and when management decides a resident’s needs exceed its ability to provide care — a catchall category that allows for considerable discretion.

Unlike nursing homes, assisted living facilities generally don’t have to document their efforts to provide care or demonstrate why they can’t provide an adequate level of assistance. In most states, there isn’t a clear path to appeal facilities’ decisions or a requirement that a safe discharge to another setting be arranged — rights that nursing home residents have under federal legislation. It’s very frustrating “because state regulations don’t provide sufficient protections,” said Robyn Grant, director of public policy and advocacy for the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care.

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