Hearing on Harborside Care Home discharge of resident Margo McDonald leaves record open until June 19

A hearing officer for the Department of Public Health reviewed an appeal on June 15, 2026, of a notice of intent to discharge resident Margo McDonald from Harborside Care Home and left the record open for documents through June 19, 2026.

The officer said a discharge plan must be prepared and provided to both the resident and the Department of Public Health under Connecticut General Statutes 19A section 19A-535 and told facility representatives that failure to provide the required plan could result in a decision in favor of the resident. "The facility has the burden of proof in this manner," the hearing officer said.

Stacy Larrabee, who identified herself as the regional ombudsman, and McDonald testified that McDonald has paid her $490 monthly portion but that the facility has not received state payments for the larger portion of the bill. "Please don't send me back to the shelter," McDonald said, describing prior hospitalizations and hardship related to shelter placement.

Demitra Gomez, identified as director of facilities at Harborside Care Home, told the officer the facility has been awaiting payment from the state Department of Social Services for roughly a year and said the facility did not wish to discharge McDonald but could not sustain unpaid care. "We are waiting for payment from the state of Connecticut," Gomez said.

During questioning, the hearing officer distinguished the notice of intent to discharge from the separate statutory requirement to prepare and furnish a discharge plan, citing the statute. The facility stated it had uploaded documents to a portal and emailed DPH at the address given in the record; the officer said their office did not have a copy of the discharge plan and requested that the facility send the plan, the admission agreement, the last full invoice, and a complete accounting of amounts owed to the DPH email.

Facility representatives said the resident’s contract required her to pay $490 per month while the state was expected to cover the remainder; the facility gave the state portion as $3,482.11. The hearing officer asked the facility to provide the admission agreement and supporting billing documents and set a deadline of June 19 for submission. The officer said that if the facility had not complied with the statutory requirement to provide a discharge plan to the resident and DPH, the decision would be issued in favor of the resident unless the facility rescinded the notice and reissued a compliant notice on the record.

The hearing record was left open for the specified documents and the proceeding was adjourned pending receipt of those materials.