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Officials say discharge notice for resident must be reissued after procedural defects
Summary
At a recorded hearing, officials concluded a previously served discharge notice for a resident identified as Mr. Berry lacked required information and directed the facility to rescind and reissue the notice with a complete discharge plan, including sending a copy to the Department of Public Health and specifying appeal rights and contact details.
A hearing officer ordered a facility to rescind a previously served discharge notice for a resident identified in the record as Mr. Berry and to issue a new notice that complies with Connecticut law, after finding the notice lacked required information.
The hearing officer told facility staff to consult Connecticut General Statutes § 19a-535a for the specifics of what a nursing home must include when effectuating a discharge. The officer said the prior notice did not include the resident’s right to appeal or the contact information for Miss Mangiafico’s office and that the record did not contain a discharge plan directed to the Department of Public Health.
Miss Player, a facility representative, said the facility believed it had followed proper procedure and that a staff member named Happy had submitted materials through the ombudsman portal. “Yes. So at this point, they thought that they did everything right. Happy said she did put something in a portal,” Miss Player said. She agreed when the hearing officer asked whether the facility wanted to rescind the previously served notice and issue a new discharge notice.
Miss Mangiafico, a staff member participating in the hearing, confirmed she had sent the owners the statutory information that the hearing officer referenced. “Okay. So I I did send the owners all that information,” Mangiafico said during the record.
The hearing officer explained that, under the statute, a copy of the discharge plan must be provided not only to the resident but also to the Department of Public Health, and noted the record did not contain such a plan. The officer recommended the facility review the statute and revise the notice so it “has all the required information in there, namely the the right to appeal and the contact information for Miss Mangiafico’s office.”
Facility representatives said they had submitted a document through the Long-Term Care Ombudsman discharge portal (the ADS app portal) but acknowledged the materials in the portal, as submitted, did not meet the statutory requirements in the hearing officer’s view.
The hearing was recorded as the facility agreeing to rescind the previously served discharge notice and to issue a new, corrected notice. The record shows the hearing officer directed the facility to review Connecticut General Statutes § 19a-535a and to ensure any new discharge notice includes the statutory appeal information and that a copy of the discharge plan be sent to the Department of Public Health.
No formal vote was recorded at the hearing; the action on the notice was recorded as the facility’s agreement to rescind and to reissue the notice to comply with statutory requirements.
