Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 3721 | Nursing Homes; Residential Care Facilities
Section 3721.16 | Residents' Rights Concerning Transfer or Discharge.

Effective: September 29, 2013
Latest Legislation: House Bill 59 - 130th General Assembly
For each resident of a home, notice of a proposed transfer or discharge shall be in accordance with this section.
(A)(1) The administrator of a home shall notify a resident in writing, and the resident's sponsor in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, in advance of any proposed transfer or discharge from the home. The administrator shall send a copy of the notice to the state department of health. The notice shall be provided at least thirty days in advance of the proposed transfer or discharge, unless any of the following applies:
(a) The resident's health has improved sufficiently to allow a more immediate discharge or transfer to a less skilled level of care;
(b) The resident has resided in the home less than thirty days;
(c) An emergency arises in which the safety of individuals in the home is endangered;
(d) An emergency arises in which the health of individuals in the home would otherwise be endangered;
(e) An emergency arises in which the resident's urgent medical needs necessitate a more immediate transfer or discharge.
In any of the circumstances described in divisions (A)(1)(a) to (e) of this section, the notice shall be provided as many days in advance of the proposed transfer or discharge as is practicable.
(2) The notice required under division (A)(1) of this section shall include all of the following:
(a) The reasons for the proposed transfer or discharge;
(b) The proposed date the resident is to be transferred or discharged;
(c) Subject to division (A)(3) of this section, a proposed location to which the resident may relocate and a notice that the resident and resident's sponsor may choose another location to which the resident will relocate;
(d) Notice of the right of the resident and the resident's sponsor to an impartial hearing at the home on the proposed transfer or discharge, and of the manner in which and the time within which the resident or sponsor may request a hearing pursuant to section 3721.161 of the Revised Code;
(e) A statement that the resident will not be transferred or discharged before the date specified in the notice unless the home and the resident or, if the resident is not competent to make a decision, the home and the resident's sponsor, agree to an earlier date;
(f) The address of the legal services office of the department of health;
(g) The name, address, and telephone number of a representative of the state long-term care ombudsman program and, if the resident or patient has a developmental disability or mental illness, the name, address, and telephone number of the Ohio protection and advocacy system.
(3) The proposed location to which a resident may relocate as specified pursuant to division (A)(2)(c) of this section in the proposed transfer or discharge notice shall be capable of meeting the resident's health-care and safety needs. The proposed location for relocation need not have accepted the resident at the time the notice is issued to the resident and resident's sponsor.
(B) No home shall transfer or discharge a resident before the date specified in the notice required by division (A) of this section unless the home and the resident or, if the resident is not competent to make a decision, the home and the resident's sponsor, agree to an earlier date.
(C) Transfer or discharge actions shall be documented in the resident's medical record by the home if there is a medical basis for the action.
(D) A resident or resident's sponsor may challenge a transfer or discharge by requesting an impartial hearing pursuant to section 3721.161 of the Revised Code, unless the transfer or discharge is required because of one of the following reasons:
(1) The home's license has been revoked under this chapter;
(2) The home is being closed pursuant to section 3721.08, sections 5165.60 to 5165.89, or section 5155.31 of the Revised Code;
(3) The resident is a recipient of medicaid and the home's participation in the medicaid program has been involuntarily terminated or denied by the federal government;
(4) The resident is a beneficiary under the medicare program and the home's certification under the medicare program has been involuntarily terminated or denied by the federal government.
(E) If a resident is transferred or discharged pursuant to this section, the home from which the resident is being transferred or discharged shall provide the resident with adequate preparation prior to the transfer or discharge to ensure a safe and orderly transfer or discharge from the home, and the home or alternative setting to which the resident is to be transferred or discharged shall have accepted the resident for transfer or discharge.
(F) At the time of a transfer or discharge of a resident who is a recipient of medicaid from a home to a hospital or for therapeutic leave, the home shall provide notice in writing to the resident and in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the resident's sponsor, specifying the number of days, if any, during which the resident will be permitted under the medicaid program to return and resume residence in the home and specifying the medicaid program's coverage of the days during which the resident is absent from the home. An individual who is absent from a home for more than the number of days specified in the notice and continues to require the services provided by the facility shall be given priority for the first available bed in a semi-private room.

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