The family of an 82-year-old woman with dementia says workers at Sibley Memorial Hospital in D.C. discharged their relative without notifying anyone and put her into a Lyft while she was wearing only her hospital gown.
The woman's family asked that News4 only use her last name, Frazier.
They said Frazier was driven from the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt nursing home to Sibley Hospital for shortness of breath on Thursday.
Her family said they called the hospital, where doctors were debating on whether to discharge her.
The staff of the nursing home didn't know she was released, according to the family. When she arrived back at the home, the staff said they were shocked to see her in just a hospital gown.
Sibley Hospital released a statement and said they are investigating the claims.
“We are looking into this allegation. The circumstances that have been shared are very disturbing and not aligned with our expectations for how we deliver care to our patients and our community. We strive to provide the safest and highest quality of care, and anything less than that is simply unacceptable.”
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The Office of the D.C. Long-Term Care Ombudsman said there are protocol and laws in place to ensure patients are properly discharged. The office is part of Legal Counsel for the Elderly.
“You’re talking about making sure you have recommendations, making sure medications are in place for the resident wherever they're going,” said Purley Jones, with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
Although he couldn’t comment on Frazier’s case directly, he addressed his office's concern for elderly patients.
“We have residents coming from nursing homes going into hospitals and we like to make sure that our residents are safe so it certainly would concern us,” Jones said.
Frazier is home while the hospital investigates the allegations made by her family.
