Nursing Home Social Services Reference/Flow of Care/Roommates and Room Moves

Roommates and Room Moves From time to time, residents may move from one room to another. These moves may be requested by resident, be for the convenience of the nursing home or be required by safety or health concerns. The prescribed procedure includes some notice to the resident of a move. If requested by the resident, this notice can be waived. For health or safety needs, the move requires no notice. These should be very carefully charted. Health requirements are moving a resident away from a source of infectious disease that needs to be quarantined. In some case both the resident and their roommate may need to be quarantined together. Nurses and doctors will determine which is best. Behavioral issues of a roommate that threaten the safety of a resident may also require a move. This is especially true if there have been threats of violence or assault. Social services is often engaged to announce and effect these moves. Occasionally, a facility will need to move a resident to create an open room for a given gender. This may happen when a roommate dies transfers to a secured / dementia unit or discharges from the facility. Other facility driven moves may be for repairs or refurbishments of the facility. These moves should be planned well in advance with notice to the resident and resident council when possible. Emergency repairs such as leaks, wind damage, failing HVAC or other emergencies should be considered safety moves. Room moves should be considered carefully and a minimal number of these should be planned or executed for a given resident. The principle is that the area a resident lives in is their home and to respect their occupation of this space as though it was their home. Discharges for financial reasons or inability to provide care required by the resident will require a 30 day notice. This can be accelerated only if there is a danger to the residents or others.