The State of Florida is seeking intervention from an appellate court to halt a judge’s directive to start transitioning certain children out of nursing homes.
Reports are that the judge ruled that the children were held in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
Legal history and advocacy: ADA violations in nursing homes
The ADA violation was first brought to court in 2012 by attorney Matthew Dietz and his co-counsels, representing several children they claimed were wrongfully housed in nursing homes.
The fight against this issue was later taken up by the U.S. Department of Justice, which culminated in July with a judge’s injunction.
In response to a federal judge’s order, the state has until the end of August to devise a plan that facilitates certain children with complex medical needs to receive care at home or in community-based settings rather than in nursing homes.
The state’s challenge: Providing adequate private duty nursing
The state is counteracting this order at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, petitioning for a suspension of the judge’s ruling.
Their argument lies in the supposed impossibility of securing enough private duty nurses to provide the care standards that the judge determined families were entitled to.
U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks, in his rejection of the state’s request to delay the implementation of his injunction, noted, “The state’s failure to provide adequate private duty nursing was the cornerstone of this case since its inception” in 2012.
Middlebrooks added that over its twelve-year history, the case had turned into “obstruction for obstruction’s sake, without regard to the consequences for these children with medical complexity and their families.”
There are approximately 140 children with complex medical needs residing in nursing homes, with another 1,800 at risk of institutionalization, according to uncontested testimony during the two-week trial in May.
Judge Middlebrooks mandated the state to supply at least 90 per cent of the necessary nursing hours to care for children who would otherwise not be housed in nursing homes.
Despite the state labeling this as “impossible,” Middlebrooks highlighted the paltry reimbursement Florida offers private duty nurses – $29.10 an hour, which is less than half of rates paid by states like Mississippi ($58.65) and Louisiana ($67.43).
Reports are that the case also includes testimony from the father of Caden Armor, a 9-year-old boy suffering from brain damage caused by a childhood incident.
Caden’s father expressed his wish for his son to live at home, but was led to believe that it was not possible. The judge also found that this sentiment was echoed by other parents.
