The patient has been designated as ready to go home and can care for oneself at home. Request for extension has been declined. The rehab/SNF requires that the patient be picked up by a family member.
The spouse is reluctant to pick them up, citing longstanding personal anger toward the patient, and may refuse. Is the spouse required and legally responsible for retrieving the patient when there is no other family available?
If the spouse were to refuse to collect the patient, would the spouse be at risk of accusation by the facility for neglecting an elder?
What is the order of legal responsibility by type of family member for collection of the patient?
For reference, I am not the spouse. I am not allowed to drive the patient home. There is no abuse from the patient toward the spouse. This matter is a personal vendetta from the spouse, directed at the patient.
Unfortunately, sometimes you just have to let these situations run their course.
No, a Spouse does not have to pick up the patient. The Hospital can send the patient home in a cab.
Anyone picking patient up is now responsible for them. So, I would not do it anyway.
The social worker would have then had to find placement for the spouse in rehab. Not sure if it's too late to try that now, but I would certainly give it a try.
Then there's the issue of a non-approved extension of stay costing actual money not covered by insurance or Medicare. It will be expensive.
The spouse doesn't have to be the caregiver once the patient returns home, but should maybe consult a divorce attorney and stop acting like a baby. The angry spouse can create a boundary by leaving since this is the only thing they can actually control at this point.