Dumping Increases Homelessness

Media reports that Ohio’s increasing homeless problem is caused by the nursing homes dumping vulnerable adults.

In early Augst of 2023, an older, medically fragile, woman was found with just a walker and a large bag of medications outside an Ohio homeless shelter. Found with a broken tibia, dementia, and diabetes, she was scared, and unsure of how she arrived there. In a similar situation, an older man with diabetes, glaucoma, cataracts, and suspected autism was found outside a homeless shelter with no papers or explanation. A third woman with neural and spinal disorders, depression, and arthritis was also found abandoned at a random Ohioan homeless shelter.

These are just three of the numerous times long-term care residents are illegally snatched from their beds and dumped outside of nursing homes by the facilities themselves. Alone, and often confused, these residents are left to fend for themselves, regardless of their medical challenges. This usually takes place after their insurance stops being accepted or their form of payment runs out, as this is all that matters to the facilities. CMS has faulted 7 facilities in the past few years for involuntarily discharging patients to homeless shelters, with there being a particular uptick in the last six months.

It need not be said the homeless shelters cannot appropriately support long-term care facilities the way that facilities are expected to. Emergency shelter systems cannot manage senior needs such as varying medications and accessible beds, not to mention the already long waitlist shelters tend to have.

The illegality of the dumping should also be noted, as facilities are required to at least give residents 30 days of notice before conducting an involuntary discharge, but often neglect this rule, resulting in seniors being left in the cold after less than 24-hours notice. Many seniors recall being lied to about their situation or their time of discharge, while others dementia prevents them from remembering or understanding any notice at all. Moreover, facilities often failed to provide critical medication to the discharged patients, as if to ensure the transitions are as cruel as possible.

These situations start when individuals and their family members meet with facilities who assure them they will care for and look after them. After signing strict and hefty payment agreements, nursing homes and long-term care facilities accept the loved one and proceed to treat them however they please, lying to them, neglecting them, and leaving them homeless when minimum care is no longer convenient. This growing issue is systemic to long-term care facilities and feeds off of unknowingly trustful residents and their family members. More Americans must be made aware of the situation before it becomes normalized nationwide.