My husband was evicted from Alzheimer’s care and died 9 days later. Kansas, fix this

If you have loved ones in a Kansas assisted living facility, you need to know that they have no legal protection from being evicted without cause. The facility can appeal infractions, but the residents cannot. Involuntary discharge is the primary complaint received by the long-term care ombudsman at the Kansas Office of Public Advocates. Here is what happened to us several years ago.

My husband, Charlie, was in assisted living because he had Alzheimer’s disease and needed more care than I could give him. The facility offered four levels of care, from early-stage Alzheimer’s to end of life. Since there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, it was critical that he stay there and never move again. Alzheimer’s patients do not relocate well. It is called transfer trauma and it cost Charlie his life. He died nine days after being evicted.

Charlie received excellent care at first. Then one day, he and five other residents were suddenly evicted, in violation of our contracts, our service agreements and every regulation related to involuntary discharge. The facility simply quit providing care, fired nurses and got rid of the residents most in need of care. No 30-day notice, no doctor’s approval, no cause for discharge.

I immediately reported this to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. KDADS investigated but issued no plan of correction and no fines. I went to the state attorney general’s consumer protection division. The people there considered my case for a full year and then dropped it. They refused to meet with me until my state senator intervened. Then I was told: “We can’t help you. There is nothing we can do. We need better laws.”

The Kansas Legislature can pass a better law in 2022. H.B. 2004 is the long overdue bill that would give assisted living residents the right to file an appeal and have a hearing when they are victims of unwarranted eviction. Nursing home residents already have that right because of federal guidelines. But most care homes in Kansas are not nursing homes. Most are assisted living facilities that fall only under state regulations, not federal. And the state does not allow assisted living residents to appeal involuntary discharge.

H.B. 2004, referred to as Charlie’s Bill in honor of my husband, gives this session of the Legislature the opportunity to protect assisted living residents from the physical, financial and emotional trauma that we experienced. Kansas lawmakers can stop this unconscionable abuse of our loved ones. Please contact your legislator and urge them to support Charlie’s Bill.

This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.