My mother was a resident of this assisted living for ten months. Her care level, as assessed by the facility, was at the lowest level. In February of this year, by mother was admitted to the hospital for chest pains. She spent 11 days in the hospital, received a pacemaker, and returned to Grace Assisted Living as expected. A follow-up nurse assessment by Grace's nurse revealed no change in her level of care. A few days later, in the late evening hours, my mom was coughing which was causing her oxygen level to drop. Grace Assisted called the paramedics, they came, assessed her and then left. My mom was assessed again by Grace's staff and was told that she had to go to the emergency room, because it was their policy. My mom said she would go the next day. It was not a life threatening situation. The local owner of the facility called my mom's room that evening and said if she did not go to the emergency room, right now, she had thirty days to find another place to live. Of course, my mom does not want to leave "her home", so she complied and left with the paramedics. Turns out my mom should have waited to go to the hospital for then she would have had 30 days to find another place, not zero days, as she was refused to be received by Grace Assisted Living two days later. On the day my mother was to be discharged from the hospital, it was the hospital nurse that informed me that my mother could not return to Grace Assisted. The reason stated to the hospital nurse was that "her level of care exceeds what our facility can provide." The doctor who discharged her was "shocked" by that response. I am thankful that I live in the same city as my mother, I could not imagine if I lived far away and this happened. I was left scrambling to find another assisted living for my mom. The stress on my mom and me was terrible. With no help by Grace Assisted Living, to assist in locating other suitable places, I was lucky to receive assistance through the hospital's case manager and other local resources. After a week of caring for my mom in my home, I found another assisted living that was more than happy to receive her and welcome her into "their family".
My recommendation to all families is to read your Resident Agreement, specifically the area for discharge and how the facility handles it. As for examples of "discharge situations". The Resident Rights that are posted in the facility for all to see, says, "Appropriate transfer and discharge". THIS DID NOT HAPPEN. read more
