Hearing held on involuntary discharge of Francis Ward resident over indoor smoking

A fair hearing convened by the Connecticut Department of Public Health on March 13, 2025, reviewed Francis Ward Towers’ 30-day involuntary discharge notice for Thomas R. Wilson, a resident of the facility who was accused of repeatedly smoking inside his studio apartment. Attorney Angelo Moragos, representing Francis Ward Towers, said the facility complied with the governing statute and that the discharge is based on repeated violations of the facility’s no-smoking policy and the risk that indoor smoking poses to other residents, including those in the adjoining St. Mary’s Home nursing unit.

The facility’s clinical director, Shanao Gay, testified that the facility hand-delivered the March 3, 2025 notice of discharge and an accompanying discharge plan to Wilson and that the plan included four motel options, transportation within a 10-mile radius if needed, and a prepackaged meal for the day of discharge. Gay said she signed the notice and the discharge plan and that Wilson also signed…