ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The patient in Room 373 is refusing to leave.
Tallahassee Memorial Medical Center sued the patient earlier this month, saying she had refused to leave her room since she was discharged last October. The hospital is also asking a state judge in Tallahassee to issue an injunction ordering patients to leave their rooms and authorizing the county sheriff’s office to assist if necessary.
The hospital said because she occupied the room, resources intended to help other patients had been diverted.
“Defendants continued to occupy the bed, rendering the bed unavailable to patients in need of acute care,” the hospital said in the lawsuit.
The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment and a formal discharge order was issued on Oct. 6 after it was determined she no longer needed acute care services, according to the lawsuit. The hospital made multiple efforts to coordinate her departure with her family and provide transportation to obtain necessary identification, the lawsuit states.
Rachel Givens, an attorney for the hospital, said Wednesday that the hospital had no comment. Hospital spokesperson Macy Leighton said Wednesday that the hospital could not discuss ongoing legal matters in response to emailed questions, including about what type of identification patients would need. The lawsuit does not say what treatment the patient received, what her hospital bill was, or how she was able to stay in the hospital for more than five months after being discharged.
There is no attorney listed for the patient, who is representing herself. The phone number listed in the patient’s online database has been disconnected. When calls came to her room at the hospital, no one answered.
An online court hearing for the lawsuit is scheduled for the end of this month.
Under the federal Emergency Medical and Labor Act, hospitals that receive Medicare funds are required to provide treatment to stabilize anyone who comes to the emergency room with an emergency medical condition, even if the patient is uninsured or unable to pay. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services can investigate hospitals for violations.
Patients may be discharged when the clinician determines that any further care can be provided as an outpatient “provided that an appropriate follow-up care plan is provided for the individual as part of the discharge instructions.” federal agency says In the operating manual.
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