From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-388070-528012
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- A new Los Angeles ordinance requires hospitals to
obtain patients' written permission before moving them anywhere other
than their homes, officials said.
Los Angeles medical centers have come under fire for allegations of
hospital workers transporting homeless patients to shelters before
they are healthy enough to be without medical treatment, The Wall
Street Journal reported Saturday.
Hospital officials say they are worried that if they are convicted of
violating the law, their facilities could be left out of vital federal
health programs. They have also voiced concerns about whether or not
hospitals can afford to hold homeless patients who do not have homes.
"The most important thing is to get culture change in the way that
hospitals discharge patients," said a spokesman for Rockard J.
Delgadillo, a Los Angeles city attorney whose office is conducting
probes of about 50 dumping allegations that occurred before June 30,
when the ordinance was put in place.