ORLANDO, Fla. — A woman occupying Room 373 at a Florida hospital has sparked an unusual legal battle by refusing to leave five months after doctors cleared her for discharge.
Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare filed a lawsuit this month against the patient, claiming she has remained in her hospital room since receiving discharge papers last October. Hospital officials are asking a state judge to issue an injunction forcing the woman to leave and giving the county sheriff’s department authority to remove her if needed.
Hospital administrators say the woman’s extended stay is interfering with their ability to care for other patients who need the room.
“Defendant’s continued occupancy prevents use of the bed for patients needing acute care,” the hospital stated in court documents.
The lawsuit reveals that the woman was initially hospitalized for medical treatment before receiving an official discharge order on October 6, when doctors determined she no longer required intensive hospital care. Hospital staff have made multiple attempts to work with her family members to arrange her departure and even offered help with transportation to get required identification documents, according to the legal filing.
Rachel Givens, the hospital’s attorney, declined to provide additional details when contacted Wednesday. The hospital also did not respond to questions about what identification the patient needed. The court documents don’t specify her original medical condition, her hospital charges, or explain how she managed to remain at the facility for over five months after being medically cleared to leave.
The patient is representing herself in the case and no lawyer has been assigned to her. Attempts to reach her were unsuccessful, as phone numbers found in public records were no longer in service, and calls to her hospital room went unanswered.
A virtual court hearing regarding the lawsuit is set to take place at the end of this month.
Federal law requires hospitals that accept Medicare funding to provide emergency treatment to stabilize any patient who arrives at their emergency department with a medical emergency, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can investigate hospitals for violations of this requirement.
According to federal guidelines, patients may be discharged once medical staff determine that any additional care can be handled on an outpatient basis, “provided the individual is given a plan for appropriate follow-up care as part of the discharge instructions,” the federal agency states in its operations manual.
