My aunt has been in a nursing home for skilled rehab for the past month due to falling out of her electric wheelchair last month and fracturing her C-2 spine. She is not stable and cannot walk on her own, or do anything without the assistance of two people. Her doctor said last week when he did the other MRI, her fracture is no longer healing and has started to separate and there is a gap. I have not been able to see her due to having caught Covid. I received a call from the facility she is in and they told me she was leaving, I was able to talk her into staying another week (the Dr's and nurses also tried to talk to her as well), but she's supposed to be in there for ANOTHER whole month. She isn't cleared to come home, she's been having serious memory issues and they've said it isn't medically safe for her to go home yet. However she's insisting on coming home AMA, because she's homesick. Her sister is her POA and there's nothing she can do since my aunt is still legally competent. Her family doesn't take care of her, they emotionally abuse her and exploit her. Yet she's leaving so she can go back to that environment. Is there not anyway anyone can do anything? Is she able to just leave AMA even though she's going to an abusive environment and isn't ready to be on her own yet?
I do have some empathy. I am considering a very serious and risky surgery for which, if I survived the surgery, I would need at least one month in rehab. I've been in rehab twice; one was a very positive experience, but I couldn't wait to get home after 6 days! A month is beyond my conception.
This happened to a friend of mine. She was in rehab and it was found she had stomach cancer. She suffered from heart problems and diabetes. She was wheelchair bound. We think she overdosed on pain killers by accident. There was no one to care for her. So she was told she could not leave and was transferred to the NH side and placed on Medicaid because she had no money.
She should be told if she is going AMA that she does it on her own. She will need to get a ride home. By going AMA there will be no discharge as such. The doctor is not obliged to give her prescriptions or set up homecare. I would think if a doctor does not think she is thinking clearly at this point he can keep her there. If she gets herself home, do very little for her. You need to show her she cannot do it on her own. She may have a certain amount of time that she can return to Rehab. If she winds up in the hospital again and then Rehab, her time will start from the days she has already put in. If she was already in 30 days, her time will start at 31. Not sure if there is not a penalty for leaving AMA and coming back to Rehab for the same thing.
GMA is not going to be discharged on her own to go home while immobile. If she does that APS will certainly be alerted to her being a vulnerable adult in need of care
This is an "unsafe discharge" if GMA is going home with no help and both physical and financial abuse.
Use those words--unsafe discharge. Do NOT pick GMA up or facilitate her release in any way.
What would they be doing for her?
she's getting therapy for walking so she can be more mobile because before she was only in the electric wheelchair
That means there is ZERO you can do about this.
You are not POA and so you cannot even talk to anyone or threaten the facility with an "unsafe discharge".
This will be self limiting in that Aunt will soon again be on the floor, and in worse shape than ever, and unABLE to get home on her own.
I would bow out. This isn't a parent. You can't make her decisions. She is doing poor decision making and there will be a consequence.
I would form a phone tree so that she can be checked on with "wellness check" if there is no answer daily to phone call.