Can a nursing home deny a person because of hospital accuired MRSA and VRE??

The ins. company wants to move my 51 year old Mom to a nursing home for further care. She got MRSA after surgery of the lung. It has been 5 weeks since the surgery. The social worker at the hospital says that all the nursing homes are turning her down because of the infection...Is this allowed???

If someone has MRSA or VRE they have to be isolated from others (depending on the location of the infection, sounds like she has it in her lungs/ sputum). If the Nursing Homes to not have the resources to give your mother a private room than yes they absolutely can deny her. However, if they do have the room available I don't see what the big deal is unless there is more to the story. What is her payment source, is she on a vent or does she have a trach? These are all factors that come into play. If you have anymore questions you can e-mail me at sloudin1@yahoo.com.

In one sentence. I don't know.

yes it is allowed. regardless of how she got the infection, they are not capable of providing proper care, nor are they capable of preventing it from spreading to other patients.

Yes, hospital acquired infections are very serious and can be hard to cure. Plus, your mom is probably highly contagious. Risking the health of all the other people in the nursing home is unethical and can get the nursing home in a lot of trouble.

Yes, it is. A lot of facilities are not equipped to isolate the pt from others until the MRSA infection is through. It is very contagious and it could kill other patients if they came in contact with it, not to mention infect staff members.

No. They should just put her in a separate room and use precaution when treating her and washing her bedding and towels, that's all. MRSA is so common especially in hospitals and nursing homes! I'd check this out with a lawyer! I have MRSA and my bf who I sleep with hasn't gotten it so it's not as catching as once thought! You cannot get it from breathing air.

A nursing home can deny anyone who could cause the spread of a contagious disease. If I am not mistaken this is contagious if you come in contact with mucus membranes, and she should be on extreme precautions. You should seek help from the hospital they will be able to lead you in the right direction as to which homes can help your mom's specific needs............
The homes can turn someone down you should check with the health department.........

That nursing home may not be equipped to handle an MRSA or VRE infection. There are different classifications of nursing homes. It has something to do with level of care provided, and staffing. For your moms care, the nursing home must have intermediate services such as 24 hr nursing, not just nursing aides, must have doctors on call, and hospital level training of cleaning staff etc.
Ask what is involved exactly because it looks like they do not want to discharge her from the hospital yet. That is very reasonable.
Yes, nursing homes are allowed to say " No, we cannot handle someone with MRSA and VRE because we do not have the properly trained staff nor the staffing needed for her care. Send her back to us after the MRSA is dealt with.