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My 90 year mother with Alzheimer's was recently admitted to a geriatric psychiatric ward at the request of her nursing home. She has been at the ward for a week and a half and has been getting much better. At the nursing home, she was agitated and would have outburst with some of the staff telling her to do things. We also have learned that some of the medications which they having her take were adding to her agitation. Last Friday morning I met with mother's Dr and we discussed how she have improved. She was the best I had seen her in months. Her Dr was hoping to discharge her on Monday. Everything seemed to be going well until I received a call Friday afternoon from mom's nursing home. They called to tell me they would not taking my mother back. I was in shock. But I also thought if they were not willing to take her, it would not be in her interest to force the home. The social worker from the hospital was also shocked and in disbelief. Her comment was... the nursing home has not even been to do an assessment of her mother since she has been here. I spent the weekend looking at nursing homes suggested by the social worker and we thing we have found a good place but it is significantly further away. I am not interesting in suing the nursing home. I am interested in making a complaint so a regulatory body can look into the way they deliver care to the elderly and vulnerable. Any suggestions or other such experiences?

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I'm so glad that your mom has improved and that her meds are straightened out!

So, each time my mom has been admitted to a hospital during the course of her NH stay, she has been discharged from the NH. Since mom is private pay, they have asked each time if we want to pay for the room while she is elsewhere. We have declined that each time.

I believe that if Medicaid is involved, they simply discharge. It's not the NH's responsibility to find her a new site, that falls on the place where she is currently a patient, i.e., the psychiatric facility.

I guess what I'm saying is that, if the facility is currently full, they are not going to assess her, because they have no availability.  I don't believe that they have breached any regulations.

Being in a NH is sort of like being in a hotel in that you are charged by the day.
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Contact the Ombudsman. They can tell you if anything is off. I believe they would be required to take her back as long as they aren't 95% full.
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Actually depending on the state, some facilities only have a certain number of Medicaid beds and don't have to take someone if Medicaid census is 100%. Different rules for rehab.
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Some facilities will not guarantee an occupant their room back if they go to a hospital or other facility. My mom, like yours needed to go to a psychiatric facility at the request of her assisted living home. She also had her meds adjusted, yet while at the psychiatric facility was transported to a medical hospital because she lost an extreme amount of weight. It was a challenge figuring out where she would go next as the no one wanted to "claim" her. The assisted living folks did finally do an assessment and she was able to return to the dementia unit.
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