Florida

Grounds stated in the sources

Section 400.022(1)(p), Florida Statutes, states "The right to be transferred or discharged only for medical reasons or for the welfare of other residents, and the right to be given reasonable advance notice of no less than 30 days of any involuntary transfer or discharge, except in the case of an emergency as determined by a licensed professional on the staff of the nursing home, or in the case of conflicting rules and regulations which govern Title XVIII or Title XIX of the Social Security Act." The Department of Elder Affairs states the same right in its own words as the right to "Be transferred or discharged only for medical reasons, the welfare of other residents or nonpayment of a bill." Section 400.0255 states the procedure but no enumeration of its own; the notice form it directs the agency to develop must "specify the reason allowed under federal or state law that the resident is being discharged or transferred, with an explanation to support this action."

Notice stated in the sources

Section 400.0255(7): "At least 30 days prior to any proposed transfer or discharge, a facility must provide advance notice of the proposed transfer or discharge to the resident and, if known, to a family member or the resident’s legal guardian or representative, except, in the following circumstances, the facility shall give notice as soon as practicable before the transfer or discharge" — two circumstances follow. Subsection (8) states the notice "must be in writing and must contain all information required by state and federal law, rules, or regulations applicable to Medicaid or Medicare cases", must "clearly describe the resident’s appeal rights and the procedures for filing an appeal, including the right to request the local ombudsman council review the notice of discharge or transfer", and must reach the ombudsman council "within 5 business days after signature by the resident or resident designee."

Hearing office in these sources

The Department of Children and Families' Office of Appeal Hearings: section 400.0255(15)(a) states "The department’s Office of Appeals Hearings shall conduct hearings under this section." The department publishes its headquarters as "Office of Inspector General Appeal Hearings Section 2415 North Monroe Street Suite 400-I Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4190" with "Phone: (850) 488-1429"; the Department of Elder Affairs publishes a different address for the same office — "Office of Appeals Hearings, 1317 Winewood Boulevard, Building 5, Room 203, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700. (Telephone: 1-850-488-1429)" — and both are shown here as published. The statute states the resident "may request a hearing at any time within 90 days after the resident’s receipt of the facility’s notice of the proposed discharge or transfer" and that a request "within 10 days after receiving the notice from the facility" stays the transfer.

Ombudsman in these sources

The Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, in the Department of Elder Affairs — "a statewide, volunteer-based system of local units that act as advocates for residents of long-term care facilities", operating "Through 14 district offices that together cover the entire state". As published on the program's own page: a resident "may request assistance from the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program by calling toll-free 1-888-831-0404." The statute gives the council a role in the notice itself: on request, "the local ombudsman council shall do so within 7 days after receipt of the request."

Sources last checked

2026-08-30

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 Florida's own publishers state about involuntary transfer and discharge from a licensed 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 section 400.0255, Florida Statutes, "Resident transfer or discharge; requirements and procedures; hearings", read with the residents' rights section 400.022, the Department of Children and Families' Appeal Hearings page, and the Department of Elder Affairs' ombudsman page. Florida's vocabulary is transfer or discharge, each defined in the statute — "“Discharge” means to move a resident to a noninstitutional setting when the releasing facility ceases to be responsible for the resident’s care." and "“Transfer” means to move a resident from the facility to another legally responsible institutional setting." — and the appeal is a fair hearing. Three publishers hold the pieces: the Legislature states the grounds and the procedure, the Department of Children and Families hears the appeal, and the Department of Elder Affairs houses the ombudsman program, which the statute writes into the notice process itself.

The federal floor for Medicare/Medicaid-certified facilities is assembled separately on [the federal page](../federal.html); 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.