Arkansas

Grounds stated in the sources

20 CAR § 400-2505(a)(1) of the Rules for Nursing Homes, in the Code of Arkansas Rules (site last updated 8/31/2026): "A resident may be transferred or discharged only for:" "Medical reasons;" "His or her welfare or the welfare of other residents;" "The resident presents a danger to the safety or health of other residents;" "Because the resident no longer needs the services provided by the facility;" "Nonpayment for his or her stay; or" "The facility ceases operation." The rule adds that "Medical reasons" for transfer or discharge "Shall be based on the resident's needs; and" "Are to be determined and documented by a physician." (§ 400-2505(a)(3)(B)).

Notice stated in the sources

Two periods in the same current Part. § 400-2505(b): "A minimum of thirty (30) days written notice must be given." and (c): "Transfer for the welfare of the resident or other residents may be affected immediately if such action is documented in the medical record." § 400-411(7)(B), in the Part's admission, transfer and discharge policies: "The resident or responsible party will be provided written notification of his or her transfer ten (10) days prior to the transfer." Both are quoted as published. The notice's required content, § 400-2505(d)(2)(A): "The written notice of transfer or discharge shall state the reason for the proposed transfer or discharge." and "The notice shall inform the resident that they have the right to appeal the decision to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services within seven (7) calendar days." "Reasonable notice of transfer or discharge" means the decision "Shall be discussed with the resident; and" "The resident will be told the reason or reasons and alternatives available." (§ 400-2505(a)(3)(C)).

Hearing office in these sources

The rule routes the appeal to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services: "An appeals process for residents objecting to transfer or discharge shall be developed by the facility, in accordance with Arkansas Code § 20-10-1005, as amended." (§ 400-2505(d)(1)); the notice must state the seven-calendar-day right to appeal to the Secretary; "The resident must be assisted by the facility in filing the written objection to transfer or discharge;" "Within fourteen (14) days of the filing of the written objections a hearing will be scheduled; and" "A final determination in the matter will be rendered within seven (7) days of the hearing." The rule names no office, address or form. The department's File an Appeal page, which does not mention nursing facility discharges, prints, for the department's administrative hearings generally, "You may email your request to DHS.Appeals@dhs.arkansas.gov or" "You may send your request by mail to:" "Department of Human Services" "Office of Appeals and Hearings" "P.O. Box 1437, Slot S101" "Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-1437". Whether a transfer or discharge objection under § 400-2505 goes to that office is not stated in the sources reviewed.

Ombudsman in these sources

The program's own site, arombudsman.dhs.arkansas.gov, names "Charlotte Sudmeyer" "State Ombudsman" and "Mandy Mercer" "Ombudsman Coordinator", lists regional ombudsmen by region, and offers a county search ("You can search for your local LTC Ombudsman in the table below:"). It prints no telephone number, street address or email address in its text; the contacts sit behind the search. That is what the program publishes on the page captured, and no other first-party page reachable on 2026-09-04 prints the office's number (see change log).

Sources last checked

Sep 4, 2026

Reproduced from the agencies' own pages and documents quoted below — potentially relevant official sources, not a determination that any notice, ground, or deadline applies to any situation.

Lede

This page assembles what Arkansas's own publishers state about involuntary transfer and discharge from a nursing home. It is a baseline page: the docket rows and the source map are built; the grounds section and the published-process section are not yet written, as the change log records. The fullest single source is 20 CAR § 400-2505, Transfer or discharge, in Subpart 25 (Residents' Rights) of Part 400, the Rules for Nursing Homes, as the Secretary of State publishes it in the Code of Arkansas Rules, which states six grounds, a thirty-day written notice with an immediate-transfer exception, the notice's contents, and a seven-calendar-day appeal to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services with a hearing scheduled within fourteen days. Arkansas's own vocabulary is transfer or discharge of a resident; the rule defines "transfer" as movement from one facility to another and calls the appeal a written objection.

Two publishers hold the pieces, and one of them was hard to reach. The Secretary of State publishes the Office of Long-Term Care's rules; the Department of Human Services publishes its appeals office and its ombudsman program, on a main site that refuses automated fetches and a program site that prints no contact in its text. The federal floor for Medicare/Medicaid-certified facilities is assembled separately on the federal page; nothing here fills a gap from federal law or another state. Confirm applicability with the agencies named in the sources: whether any provision applies to a particular facility, resident, or notice is for the hearing office to determine. Deadlines and periods on this page are quoted from the sources, not calculated for any case.