The resident asked if the Ombudsman could help appeal the discharge and determine what is happening with her monthly Social Security, because she was not receiving the money.
When a nursing home resident receives a “Discharge Notice” from the nursing home, they are instructed (in the Discharge Notice) to contact the Ombudsman’s office if they have questions or want assistance appealing the discharge. In this case, the Ombudsman gathered all relevant information from the resident, including her consent for the Ombudsman to investigate, and ultimately filed an appeal of the discharge notice.
The Ombudsman also met with the resident in person and obtained a copy of the resident’s signed authorization, which directed Social Security to send her monthly Social Security income directly to the nursing home. The Ombudsman then met with the nursing home’s administrator and business office manager to determine why they weren’t receiving the resident’s Social Security income.
The business office manager had created a lengthy spreadsheet showing the facility had not received a payment for five months and the resident owed a substantial amount to the nursing home. However, upon close examination, the Ombudsman discovered the nursing home had misspelled the resident’s last name and asked the business office manager if this was a “typo.” The business office manager and administrator then reviewed the spreadsheet and their laptop computer for several minutes.
There was silence for a momen,t and then an apology. The administrator explained they previously had a resident with the same name, though there was a slight difference in the spelling of their last names.
The business office manager, who was new, had confused our client with a previous resident. The nursing home administrator confirmed our client was up to date in her payments to the facility and that they had received all Social Security payments. The administrator agreed to immediately rescind the discharge notice.
The Ombudsman then met with the client and explained the nursing home had made a billing error and the discharge notice had been rescinded. The Ombudsman reminded the client to call our office if she received any additional discharge notices and the client agreed. The client was grateful for the Ombudsman’s assistance and was so happy she did not have to move to another nursing home.
The Ombudsman Column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens’ Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to us at 11 W. Monument Ave., Suite 606, Dayton 45402, call 937-223-4613, or by electronic mail at ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org.
About the Author