Woman Overstays Hospital Stay by a Year

[jamotto]

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By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer

More than a year after Sarah Nome was deemed healthy and given her discharge papers, the 82-year-old woman stubbornly refuses to leave her hospital bed.

Nome admits there is no reason she should be racking up unpaid medical bills ÔÇö which have now topped $1 million ÔÇö but says she has nowhere else to turn.

Now Kaiser Permanente's San Rafael Medical Center in California is suing her for the cost of her stay and trying to show her the door.

"The thing is, I have no medical problem. I've been here more than a year, never had any medication, never had any treatment, never had a fever, have a perfect heart, blood pressure is like a teenager," Nome said in a telephone interview from the hospital north of San Francisco. "It isn't that I'm not ready to go. I just have nowhere to go."

Exasperated hospital officials persuaded a judge to approve her eviction. But because Nome is bedridden and cannot walk, they have no intention of wheeling her onto the street. Instead, they hope the ruling encourages her to pack her bags.

"We're really not interested in her money," Kaiser attorney Stanley Watson said. "We just want her cooperation."

Nome's troubles began, her daughter Jane Sands says, in 2002 when she broke both her legs while living alone. After several operations, Nome could no longer care for herself and was admitted to the first of several nursing homes.

The most recent one, Nome claims, sent her to the hospital against her will. Hospital officials say she was admitted for a weeklong psychiatric evaluation, was deemed to be in good mental health, was then ordered released.

But because she is suing the nursing homes where she lived before she was hospitalized, Nome and her daughter claim she has no choice but to stay put. Nome is suing the last home she lived in, Greenbrae Care Center, for sending her to the hospital.

Watson said hospital officials have tried to find a suitable home for Nome, but Nome and her daughter insist on staying in Marin County, where Nome has spent her entire life.

That puts Kaiser in a difficult position, given Nome's bedridden state.

"If a patient were ambulatory, you could simply discharge them and say, `Have a nice day,'" Watson said. "But I can assure you that we don't plan on having the sheriff come in and physically remove her and put her on the street."

Greenbrae will not take Nome back because she is suing the nursing home, said Bob Peirce, chief operating officer of Ocadian Hospitals and Care Centers, which runs the center.

"She's suing us, and we obviously feel very strongly that she has no case," Peirce said.

Anthony Wright, executive director of the health care advocacy group Health Access California, said Nome's situation highlights a larger, nationwide problem.

"This issue is becoming more and more contentious because ... we don't have a long-term care policy in this country, so there is no set way that we take care of seniors who need ongoing care," he said.

Meanwhile, Nome remains in her hospital gown. She said the doctors and nurses "couldn't be finer," but she has missed the news since her television and newspaper privileges were taken away. "I think Bush might still be president," she quipped.

She passes the time by reading in bed and gazing out the window.

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They really found this woman to be sane

but then again I really dislike hospitals. Could be b/c on one of my visits it really boosted my spirits to hear 12 times that night

High pitched BEEP, followed by CODE BLACK!!! CODE BLACK!!!, people running, CLEAR!!, CLEAR!!

[Guest DocHoliday]

hehehe, $1 millions still keeps ringing in my ears.. Hospital stay (JUSTIFIED, mind you) is free in my country for however long it takes. Of course, you pay it as part of obligatory insurance, every month, throughout your working life.. Even if you never actually need it. But some poor bastard always does and there is never a guarantee you won't be next in line.

Also, if she could prove she was technically a homeless person, they'd put her in a retirement home and take the monthly payments out of her pension

But what happened to this woman, could hardly happen here, both in terms of how much she owes, and of doctors letting her stay THAT long. They make damn sure everyone leaves as soon as possible for obvious reasons - zero profit after you're healthy again.

Cheers,

[Supreme Cmdr]

This country has THE worst health care system in the free world. THE WORST. In this country, if you don't have insurance - or money - you die. Its really that simple.

I simply cannot imagine why a country like this falls behind in medical care and insurance when the rest of Europe is doing just fine.

It is a disgrace and the whole system is run by political lobbyists.

[Guest DocHoliday]

Well, you need to have insurance here too, BUT it is obligatory (automatically deducted from your gross pay) and it's something of the order of $100-150 depending on your paycheck..

There are flaws though. This insurance includes a portion that goes towards your pension.. But it is NOT a personal savings account. Your eventual pension is not directly related to the money you invested, but is legally set.. We are now instituting measures to try to have a hybrid of US and hard core socialist systems.. So you have a combination of state funded pension and insurance, but it is minimal, and then you make up for the rest of it (70% or so) with your own life-long savings.. Still, medical costs, especially critical are covered. Dentists and stuff like that are only partially covered...

I don't know about America. But I guess the current system is just a perversion of the original individualism you people still have in abundance.. "I earned my money, it's mine and I owe nobody nothing".. that's a healthy philosophy but it got seriously abused somewhere along the line... now rich people get tax cuts, and lower social classes have no choice but to fight in places like Iraq to earn military pay and try to get out of shit. IF... they survive. It's ridiculous, especially for a superpower. And then you have travesties like movies stars who get insanely overpayed for the amount of work they actually do.... and on the other end, you have welfare-to-work programs, that make you PAY back the money the state gave you. Ugh.

Cheers,