Help? Rehab facility refusing admission

    • May 2, 2017 at 5:08 pm

      My mother Donna White recently caught miller fisher/guillain barre syndrome. She was intubated for breathing and feeding for about 1 week – 1 and 1/2 weeks. Now she is recovering but still needs assisted care and rehab.

      The care facility she is at is bad so we are trying to get her transferred to a care facility in La Jolla San Diego CA. The Facility “La Jolla Regents Rehab” is refusing her under the basis “We don’t take your case here, we’ve never dealt with it before.”

      Is it legal for them to deny under this basis? Is there anything we can do to get her sent to a better care facility? We are in San Diego. Any ideas on care facilities or methods to fix this?

    • May 2, 2017 at 6:25 pm

      SNF’s must be licensed in California. The CDPH website is here:
      http://hfcis.cdph.ca.gov/default.aspx
      They list 89 SNF’s in SD county. You can narrow the search to focus on a smaller area.

      If you wish to file a complaint with the CDPH you can do so here:
      https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHCQ/LCP/Pages/FileAComplaint.aspx

      I spent about 6 months in a LA SNF while recuperating from GBS/CIDP/MFS. I couldn’t wait to be well enough to go home, even the best SNF’s are no fun.

      Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a bit more common than CIDP type descriptions. Perhaps the wording you give the SNF should be more generic. Most SNF’s have dealt with PN or diabetic neuropathies. Try different wording. Your mother will need assistance with ADL’s, that’s what SNF’s do.

    • May 2, 2017 at 6:40 pm

      The patient bill of rights is covered by California law. You can read up on it should you need to:

      The Bill of Rights are found in state laws and regulations under California
      Health and Safety Code Section 1599; Title 22 of the California Code
      of Regulations, Section 72527 for Skilled Nursing Facilities, and
      Section 73523 for Intermediate Care Facilities; and Chapter 42 of the
      Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter IV, Part 483.10 et seq. The
      California Health and Safety Code is abbreviated as “HSC,” Title 22 of
      the California Code of Regulations is abbreviated as “22CCR,” and
      Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations is abbreviated as “42CFR.”

    • May 3, 2017 at 11:35 pm

      You certainly would not want to place her in a facility that does not have experience in dealing with GBS patients. I know that some places are considered a “Sub Acute” facility, which would deal with more seriously ill who might be on a respirator or require tube feeding.

      A co-worker who had GBS was sent to a rehab place in San Pedro that she said was excellent. I am in a SNF in Bellflower that had decided to IVig infusions onsite so I had to go to the hospital. I was previously in a place in Long Beach that provided more services, but this was before I got the CIDP diagnosis. I left there because their staff doctor was sloppy with his prescribing, not checking my allergies before giving antibiotics and ignoring my complaints of weakness, numbness and dizziness, which led to a one year delay in my diagnosis. After discharge and rehospitalization, I needed to be placed in another SNF and I was turned down by every facility in Long Beach (except one that cost $11,000/month) because this place had me “blackballed” according to the hospital social worker, so that is why I am in Bellflower.

      So they can turn you down because they think you might be too much trouble.

    • GH
      May 4, 2017 at 12:43 pm

      Thorough and excellent advice from Jim, as usual.