ANA on the FrontlineFrom the Ethics InboxLegal & Ethics

Implementing safe discharges for patients without homes

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By: Response by Danisha Jenkins, PhD, RN, CCRN, NEA-BC

A recently discharged elderly homeless patient died near the hospital in which I work. We’re discharging more elderly patients to the streets because shelter beds aren’t available. We don’t have room in the emergency department (ED) to house these vulnerable patients, but isn’t it unethical to discharge them back to the streets?

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