Delaware

Grounds stated in the sources

16 Del. Admin. Code § 3102-3.1: "The facility must permit each resident to remain in the facility, and not transfer or discharge the resident from the facility unless—" "The transfer or discharge is necessary for the resident's welfare and the resident's needs cannot be met in the facility."; "The transfer or discharge is appropriate because the resident's health has improved sufficiently so the resident no longer needs the services provided by the facility;"; "The safety of individuals in the facility is endangered;"; "The health of individuals in the facility would otherwise be endangered;"; "The resident has failed, after reasonable and appropriate notice, to pay for (or to have paid under Medicare or Medicaid) a stay at the facility."; "The facility ceases to operate." A second list in the same current regulation, § 3102-4.2, for "Nursing Facility and Similar Facility" residents, states five grounds differently: "Medical needs which cannot be met in the facility;"; "The resident's own welfare;"; "The welfare of the other individuals in the facility;"; "Nonpayment of justified charges, after appropriate notice;"; "Termination of facility operation." Both lists are quoted as published; neither is reconciled here.

Notice stated in the sources

Before a transfer or discharge, the facility must "Notify the resident and, if known, a family member or legal representative of the resident of the transfer or discharge and the reasons for the move in writing and in a language and manner they understand." The notice is due "at least 30 days before the resident is transferred or discharged" except that "Notice may be made as soon as practicable before transfer or discharge when:" "The safety of individuals in the facility would be endangered under paragraph 3.1.3 of this section;"; "The health of individuals in the facility would be endangered, under paragraph 3.1.4 of this section;"; "The resident's health improves sufficiently to allow a more immediate transfer or discharge, under paragraph 3.1.2 of this section;"; or "An immediate transfer or discharge is required by the resident's urgent medical needs under paragraph 3.1.1 of this section." The required contents include "A statement of the resident’s right to a fair hearing as provided in this section;", "The method by which the resident may request a fair hearing;", and "The name, address and telephone number of the State long term care ombudsman;" (§ 3102-3.5).

Hearing office in these sources

"An impartial hearing may be requested by a resident who believes a facility has erroneously determined that he or she must be transferred or discharged." The hearing request must "Be in writing;", "Be received by the facility within 30 days from the date that the discharge notice is received by the resident or the resident’s legal representative;", and "Be copied to the Division and the State LTC ombudsman." (§ 3102-5.1.1) — the regulation names no separate filing address, form, or administrative-hearings office beyond the facility itself and those two copies. On pendency, the same regulation states: "If the resident appeals a notice of discharge based on this section, the facility will not be cited during the pendency of the appeal for housing a resident whose needs exceed the permitted level of care in that facility." (§ 3102-3.1.1). The regulation's own definitions name "the Division" as "the Division of Long Term Care Residents Protection." (§ 3102-2.0), a name that does not appear on the department's current site, which instead directs nursing-facility complaints and correspondence to the Division of Health Care Quality's Office of Long-Term Care: "263 Chapman Road, Suite 200" "Newark, DE 19702-5408" "Phone: (302) 421-7400" "Toll-Free Hotline: 1-877-453-0012". Both names are quoted as published and not reconciled.

Ombudsman in these sources

The regulation requires every transfer or discharge notice to carry "The name, address and telephone number of the State long term care ombudsman;" (§ 3102-3.5.7). The program's own page: "The Delaware Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program advocates for and protects those who live in long-term care settings, such as skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, as well as those who receive home and community-based services." Its published contact: "Contact the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman:" "DHSS_OSEC_Ombudsman@Delaware.gov" "1-855-773-1002". Elsewhere on the same page the address is printed in a different case: "email" "DHSS_OSEC_Ombudsman@delaware.gov" — both quoted as published, not reconciled.

Sources last checked

Sep 3, 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 Delaware's own publishers state about involuntary transfer and discharge from a nursing facility. 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 16 Del. Admin. Code § 3102, Long Term Care Transfer, Discharge and Readmission Procedures, last amended per its own closing citation "16 DE Reg. 296 (09/01/12)", which states the grounds (twice, in two parallel tracks for two different categories of facility), the thirty-day notice and its exceptions, the notice's required contents, and the fair-hearing procedure in a single regulation. Delaware's own vocabulary is transfer or discharge, and the appeal is called a fair hearing.

The regulation is the sole publisher of the hearing procedure — it names no separate administrative-hearings office, filing address, or form; a resident's hearing request goes to the facility itself, copied to "the Division" and the state ombudsman. The regulation's own definition of "the Division" no longer matches the name the department's current site uses for nursing-facility oversight, a discrepancy this page records rather than resolves. The state long-term care ombudsman program is a separate publisher, the Office of the Secretary's own page, for its contact details. 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.