Florida hospital sues to evict a patient who won't leave room 5 months after discharge

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The patient in Room 373 refuses to leave.

Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare earlier this month sued the patient, saying she has refused to depart her hospital room since being discharged last October. The hospital also has asked a state judge in Tallahassee for an injunction ordering the patient to vacate the hospital room and authorizing the county sheriff's office to assist if necessary.

The hospital said that resources have been diverted from helping other patients because of her occupation of the room.

“Defendant's continued occupancy prevents use of the bed for patients needing acute care,” the hospital said in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the woman was admitted to the hospital for medical treatment and a formal discharge order was issued Oct. 6 after it was determined that she no longer needed acute care services. The hospital has repeatedly made efforts to coordinate her departure with family members and offered transportation to obtain necessary identification, the lawsuit said.

Rachel Givens, an attorney for the hospital, said Wednesday that the hospital had no comment. Hospital spokeswoman Macy Layton said Wednesday that the hospital couldn't discuss active legal matters, in response to emailed questions, including about what type of identification the patient needed. The lawsuit doesn't say what the patient was treated for, what her hospital bill was or how she was able to stay at the hospital for more than five months despite being discharged.

No attorney was listed for the patient, who is representing herself. Phones numbers listed in an online database for the patient were disconnected. No one answered the phone when a call was put through to her room at the hospital.

An online court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for the end of the month.

Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals that receive Medicare funds must provide treatment that stabilizes anyone coming to an emergency department with an emergency medical condition, even if the patient doesn't have insurance or the ability to pay. Hospitals can be investigated by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for violations.

The patient can be discharged when the clinicians have determined that any further care can be provided as an outpatient, “provided the individual is given a plan for appropriate follow-up care as part of the discharge instructions,” the federal agency said in an operations manual.

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