'Trial run' to close: Rhode Island hospital accused of trying to discharge some patients without notifying families

Health department records and interviews with patient families indicate the embattled Eleanor Slater Hospital, a state-run psychiatric hospital in Cranston, R.I., attempted to discharge some ventilator patients to another facility earlier this year without notifying them or their families,The Boston Globereported June 2.

In April, a complaint prompted the state health department to survey Eleanor Slater, which concluded the hospital didn't follow its discharge policy when it sent a patient's documents to an outside facility without notifying the patient. Documents obtained by theGlobeshow the hospital strengthened its discharge policy in response, and agreed to report to regulators for six months.

This has been the only issue with the hospital's discharge policy since 2019, a spokesperson for the agency that runs Eleanor Slater told the news outlet, adding that its patient record policy is now stricter than HIPAA.

"ESH has now agreed to follow a policy that is stricter than HIPAA by obtaining patient or family consent before sharing such information in this situation," the spokesperson told theGlobe.

While the health department's survey involved the records of a single patient, a nurse and patient family members claim it happened to more than one person.

Melissa Ferarrio, RN, a nurse at Eleanor Slater and president of a local union that represents the hospital's nurses, said records of five patients were sent to an outside rehabilitation facility without notifying families first. Outcry from families and advocates ultimately stopped the discharges, Ms. Ferarrio told theGlobe.

Critics of the hospital's administration say it was part of an effort to lower the patient count, which would justify a closure.

The Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, which runs the hospital, has long denied accusations of "shadow closure" attempts, theGlobereports.

Editor's note:Becker'shas reached out to Eleanor Slater Hospital and will update the report as more information becomes available.

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