There outght to be a law... and some states already have it!

Hullo, visitors from Crooks & Liars! (Thanks for the link, Blue Gal) - and indeed, there are states that don't permit eviction of patients from nursing homes.

We'll hear more from Sue Estes, Regional Ombudsman, but I know of Illinois, which made such evictions illegal in 1979, and Oregon, which did so this year, after the Assisted Living Concepts ghouls evicted every Medicaid patient in the state in one grand move.

Washington should have that law, too. In fact, so should the OTHER Washington.

If you're local to Port Townsend, be at the City Council meeting tonight at 6:30. If you're not, find out the conditions in your state and work to change them. Quick, before you or someone you love needs the laws to be in place.

City Council Meeting - Monday at 6:30

The Port Townsend city council meets on first and third Mondays at 6:30 p.m., at the City Council Chambers.

The Victoria House facility is within city limits, and is subject to city ordinances. Anyone with questions about this (or knowledge about how to get it on the agenda) is welcome to show up.

Are you coming on Monday? Leave a comment, too. Maybe they'll need to pull in some extra chairs.

Victoria House Eviction - the facts

From the Port Townsend Leader:

Eleven residents of the assisted-living facility were told individually [...] Thursday [November 1st] that they need to move by Jan. 31 because Assisted Living Concepts, a Wisconsin-based national public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is no longer accepting state Medicaid at the Port Townsend facility.

Laurie Bebo, CEO and President of Assisted Livings Concepts, which runs the place, seems to think that's just a fine business practice. A large chunk of the rest of the human race pretty much disagrees.

Watch this space for action alerts, facts that matter, and links to other organizations working on issues like this one.