SALT LAKE CITY — Discharges or transfers from nursing homes and assisted living facilities can have “serious negative effects on residents” — even leading to something known as “relocation stress syndrome,” according to the state of Utah’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
Because the impacts can be so severe, the office says it’s important to prevent discharges “if at all possible.”
But while residents in nursing homes have the right to dispute or appeal a discharge, those living in Utah’s assisted living facilities don’t have the same protections.
“If you are renting just a normal apartment from a landlord,” there’s a way to contest an eviction, noted Long-Term Care Ombudsman Alianne Sipes in a recent interview with FOX 13 News.
"But assisted livings are in this weird space where they don’t have any way to dispute the claims being made about them from facility staff,” she added.
Older adults are being discharged out of long-term care facilities — and into homelessness:
Rep. Logan Monson, R-Blanding, sponsored a bill during the most recent legislative session that would have given nursing home residents the ability to dispute or appeal a discharge.
But the bill, HB506, didn’t get far and ultimately died without a hearing in either chamber. Monson told FOX 13 News he believed that was largely due to the bill's fiscal note, which called for $150,000 in ongoing funding and $3,500 in one-time funding for costs associated with appeal hearings.
While Monson said he may sponsor the legislation again in a future session, Sipes said the Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Office is working with assisted living providers and other stakeholders to find solutions in the meantime.
“We’re discussing options and what would that look like,” she said, in an effort to "strengthen the protections of assisted living facilities.”
The office recently noted a 38% increase in discharges at assisted living facilities, with an increasing number attributed to “behavioral” issues associated with dementia, according to a 2024 report.
The Long-Term Care Ombudsman also recently shared data with FOX 13 News showing that increasing numbers of residents from both nursing homes and assisted living facilities are being discharged to hotels and homeless shelters.
While nursing homes are required to ensure they are discharging someone to a “safe” location, Sipes notes that the rules are “a little bit more gray for assisted living facilities.”
“Yes, they also are supposed to be finding a safe discharge location,” she added. “But it’s unclear whose responsibility it is sometimes to find that.”
Nursing home discharges
Nursing home residents who disagree with a discharge have more rights than those who live in assisted living facilities, according to a fact sheet created by the Utah Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Office.
Under federal rules, a nursing home can only discharge residents if:
- Their welfare and needs cannot be met in a facility.
- Their health has improved and they no longer need nursing home services.
- The safety of others in a facility is endangered.
- The health of others in a facility is endangered.
- They have failed to pay for their stay after reasonable and appropriate notice.
- The facility is closing.
Facilities are required to provide written discharge notices to residents at least 30 days in advance, except under certain circumstances. The notice must include the reason for the discharge, the date of discharge, the resident’s appeal rights and the location the resident will be discharged to, according to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
Allison Spangler, the president and CEO of the Utah Health Care Association, noted that nursing homes operate “under strict federal rules and state oversight” and are required to “make sure discharges are safe and appropriate, with proper notice and planning in place.”
Sipes noted that there are “some situations” where a hotel or homeless shelter has been deemed an acceptable discharge location from a nursing home.
“If facilities can show they have gone above and beyond trying to find an alternative and there’s just no place for [the resident] to go, then it has been allowed,” she said.
Facilities are required to send the Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Office copies of all discharge notices they send to residents, Sipes said.
“And then if residents or their families wish, then we can get involved and take a look at that situation and make sure that the facility is acting according to regulations,” she added.
The Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Office can provide information about residents’ rights, responsibilities and options throughout the process, as well as provide help with filing an appeal. If a resident chooses to appeal, a facility must prove at a hearing why it has the right to discharge.
Read more from the FOX 13 Investigates team's ongoing coverage of Utah’s elder care systems:
- Older adults are being discharged out of long-term care facilities — and into homelessness
- 'More psych than we can handle': Utah nursing homes struggle to address residents' mental health needs
- ‘It should never happen’: Vulnerable adults sexually assaulted inside Utah nursing homes
- Why FOX 13 News is reporting in-depth on gaps in Utah’s elder care systems
- Consensual sex between residents, employees in long-term care raises concerns
- Q&A: Utah’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman is ready to advocate for you and your loved ones
- Utah’s Adult Protective Services is substantiating few cases of elder abuse
- What you should know before choosing a nursing home
- Older adults are wandering away from Utah care facilities, sometimes with tragic outcomes
- Critics say taxpayer dollars for nursing homes should be spent on care, not new buildings
- Nursing homes receiving millions in extra taxpayer funds face allegations of poor patient care