Attn: Nursing Home Providers
Reminder regarding Required Notification to the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman of Transfers and Discharges of Residents of Nursing Homes
In 2017, the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman issued this Procedure Clarification memo to address the requirements for nursing homes to provide information to residents and/or to resident representatives about the State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, and the CMS requirement to send copies of transfer and discharge notices to a representative of the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman.
When the nursing home has decided to discharge the resident while the resident is still hospitalized and has an expectation of returning to the nursing home, the nursing home must send a notice of discharge to the resident and resident representative, and must also send a copy of the notice of discharge to a representative of the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman. In order to afford the resident their full rights to appeal the notice of facility-initiated discharge, the nursing home is expected to take the resident back and follow the facility-initiated discharge requirements as per DHS 132. Notice to the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman must occur at the same time the notice of discharge is provided to the resident and resident representative.
For any other types of facility-initiated discharges, the facility must provide notice of discharge to the resident and resident representative, along with a copy of the notice to the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, at least 30 days prior to the discharge or as soon as possible. Notice to the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman must be sent at the same time notice is provided to the resident and resident representative.
When a resident is temporarily transferred on an emergency basis to an acute care facility, notice of the transfer may be provided to the resident and resident representative as soon as practicable, according to 42 CFR 483.15(c)(4)(ii)(D). Copies of notices for emergency transfers must also still be sent to the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, but they may be sent when practicable, such as in a list of residents on a monthly basis.
Please review the Procedure Clarification memo for complete guidance. If you have any questions, please contact your regional ombudsman by calling 1-800-815-0015 or via e-mail at boaltc@wisconsin.gov.
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