Ohio nursing homes ‘dump’ vulnerable patients at homeless shelters in shocking trend

One diabetic and incontinent woman was left standing outside in the sun ‘unclear of what was going on’
The woman, who was diabetic, managing a tibia fracture, and incontinent, arrived at the shelter carrying "a large bag of medications."
Federal inspectors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) documented the incident following an August 3, 2023, inspection, noting the woman was "unclear of what was going on, scared, and not sure who dropped her off there."
The Eastland Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Columbus had involuntarily discharged the woman after she was caught drinking beer at the facility.

While staff reportedly sought a substance abuse rehabilitation bed, none were immediately available.

Eastland staff failed to contact the county’s psychiatric bed board for alternative placement before taking her to the shelter, where she faced a waiting list of about 100 people.

The shelter at first declined to admit the woman, leaving her outside in the late-summer heat.

Staff eventually relented, letting her sit in the lobby with a glass of cold water while they summoned a city rapid response team, including the fire department and a social worker.

Neither Eastland nor the CMS inspectors could locate the woman by the time the report was published.

“I would say certainly over the last six months there has been an uptick.”
But health care is as subject to macroeconomic forces like inflation as other sectors of the economy.

And Medicaid, which pays for most nursing care, is under increasing cost pressure as federal lawmakers have reduced program funds.

The challenges nursing facilities in Ohio are facing reflect a broader and concerning trend affecting facilities across the country, said Scott Wiley in a statement, CEO of the Ohio Health Care Association, an industry trade group.

“Invariably, that ends up being a horrible experience for the individual because they’ll go to the shelter, and typically, within two to three days, the shelter will send them to the hospital because they can’t meet their needs,” Wilkins said.

Often, the issues trace back to insurers, including Medicaid and Medicare, that cut off residents’ benefits.

Sometimes the facilities cite aggressive behavior or substance use.

“The emergency shelter system, to the extent we have a system, is often the only thing available when other interventions don’t work,” he said.

Whether a shelter is “safe and appropriate” is a fact-specific question.

Pelletier said there are instances where it could be, pending the care needs of the resident and abilities of the shelter.

It’s the kind of thing that ombudsmen hone in on when reviewing discharges.

What mattered is that his insurance stopped paying, and the Laurels of Hillsboro wanted him out, according to a Dec.

29, 2025 CMS inspection of the facility .

The facility was sold in July 2025 and rebranded to Hillsboro Health and Rehab, but state and federal records reflect the previous name.

The man wasn’t taught to manage his medications and showed up at the shelter without any needles to use.

He struggled to see with his cataracts.

He had no driver’s license, birth certificate or other documents he would need to get a job, income or housing.

“I can’t believe they would do someone dirty like that,” the patient’s roommate said to CMS inspectors.

Hillsboro, via a receptionist who declined to provide her name over the phone, declined to comment but said the facility is now in “substantial compliance” with the state.

He was given two weeks’ worth of medications, but no prescriptions, medical appointments or care plan.

The shelter staff identified a “mismatch” given the man had trouble walking and couldn’t climb a ladder to reach a top bunk, as the facility requires.

Meadowbrook staff refused to take him back.

At New Lebanon Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, a woman’s insurer sent her a termination letter for her treatment for a series of neural and spinal disorders, plus depression and arthritis.

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