TAMPA, Fla. — Nursing homes and rehabilitation centers are often vital for recovery for patients who have been hospitalized.
But the I-Team has uncovered that people who suffer a serious illness or injury can be shut out of these facilities because of a drug addiction, even though some legal experts believe that practice may violate federal law.
Using a walker with wheels to guide his wobbly legs, Mariano Delgado slowly slides onto a bench in front of his keyboard.
“I’ve already fallen several times,” he said as he gingerly positioned himself on the seat.
He said it was the first time he’s played since spending more than a month in St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Delgado is a recovering drug addict who started using narcotics while playing music in New York jazz and salsa clubs decades ago.
“I didn’t want to use it no more. I’m done with it,” Delgado said.
Delgado suffered a stroke while trying to detox cold turkey from fentanyl.
“It paralyzed me on the right side of my body. I couldn’t move my arm. I couldn’t move this leg whatsoever. I couldn’t move my toes,” he said.
No rehab facility would take him
When it came time for him to be discharged from the hospital, Marino said no rehab facilities would accept him.
He said the social worker at the hospital said his drug use history was given as a reason in some cases.
“Those facilities are under no obligation to take people in,” said University of South Florida Healthcare Vice President Jay Wolfson.
Wolfson said hospitals are required under federal law to treat patients with life-threatening illnesses and injuries, but the same is not true for long-term care facilities.
He said these facilities often exclude people with drug use histories.
“For two reasons. One is potential liability, and the second is the potential public relations problem of word getting around that those folks are in this facility,” Wolfson said.
Baycare Health spokesperson Lisa Razler said patient placement is often challenging.
“Unfortunately, the need is so great that there is a constant waiting list of people with both medical and psychiatric needs who need ongoing care. Meanwhile, there continues to be a national shortage of workers throughout the healthcare industry,” she said in an emailed statement.
A national problem
Attorney Sally Friedman of the nonprofit Legal Action Center said that’s no excuse.
“When a nursing facility refuses to take someone because of substance use disorder, that’s essentially denying care because of their disability,” Friedman said.
Friedman said facilities legally can’t refuse admission or treatment to patients with opioid use disorder, but they routinely do it anyway.
“They’ve generally gotten away with it for years, but that is starting to change because the Department of Justice has really come down on this kind of conduct and entered into settlement agreements with nursing facilities in a number of states,” she said.
Delgado said he was sent home from the hospital in a diaper for incontinence brought about by his stroke.
“They only gave me one diaper. I’m still waiting to find somebody that I could pay them $20 to give me a shower in my own bathroom and watch me and hold me up,” Delgado said.
Friedman said that’s inexcusable.
“This is a chronic medical condition, and they would never do the same thing for someone who came in with diabetes,” she said.
“I need consistent therapy in a therapy place, in a nursing home where they could watch me and take care of me. That’s the bottom line. And they denied me that,” Delgado said.
We contacted AHCA, which regulates nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities in the state of Florida, and the Florida Health Care Association, which is the trade organization that represents long-term care facilities.
We did not hear back from either organization.
How to report facilities
If you have been denied care at a facility as a result of opioid dependency, you can find out more information about your rights by contacting the Legal Action Center, or you can file a complaint through AHCA.
