Documentation, when discharging a resident for any reason including: to move to a higher degree of care, house rule violations, or death, is necessary and should be required.  In many States, documentation of a discharge is law. A Discharge Summary can assist in assuring that proper documentation has been completed.  A Discharge Summary should include in addition to the basic information on the resident the following items:

• Special Instructions
• Reason for the discharge
• To whom the resident what discharged
• How the resident was transported
• If a responsible party was handling the discharge, who and what is relationship
• Who a copy of the medications and med sheet had been provided
• Have resident or responsible party acknowledge that medications, med sheet, Medicare and other ID cards have been provided to them, items in the safe have been returned, copy of emergency information is provided and resident’s furniture has been returned.
• A list of items and people that a copy of the Discharge Summary is to be provided to
• Signature of Resident or responsible party and the employee handling the discharge with date

Whatever the case may be for the discharge, the discharge must be documented and handled properly.  The facility has some responsibility to the resident to assure they are cared for properly in their new place of residence.  If the new home or facility cannot meet the residents’ needs, the facility should report this to the adult protective service.  The resident always has the right to appeal the eviction to the licensing agency or a court of law.

Residents occasionally need to be relocated for various reasons including, but not limited to state required relocation, residents desire to move, medical reasons and eviction.  The facility or home should have a Relocation Plan for when these situations occur.  The Relocation Plan makes the transition smother for the

resident and the facility in addition to satisfying the need for documentation of the relocation and how the facility assisted in the relocation, resulting in reduced chances of litigation.

To access the relocation plan, log-on to our www.pcalic.com.

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