# 7 NURSING HOME TRANSFER TRAUMA – THE PUBLIC INTEREST

SPRING 1975

Starting with the premise that necessary change could be beneficial, the change to another bed in the same room, another room or another facility for a nursing home resident is assumed as beneficial or necessary for the welfare of the residents involved. But movement is a change and change is often difficult and even traumatic to the point of death for many people especially among the aged, ill or dependent. And this is reflected in rising death rates observed when an increasing number of residents had to be moved as the horrific and unsafe conditions at many nursing homes in New York City and State came to light.

The studies seeking to learn why transfers caused stress and death are described and one implied cause of transfer deaths was the moving of residents known as transfers.

This Quarterly lists reasons why residents are moved providing specific examples and offers solutions to help reduce the need for transfers and reduce the impact on residents when transfers cannot be avoided. Also noted was the response or failure to respond by government agencies with a summation of the City and State agencies areas of failure. The Quarterly continues providing detail and specific actions related to transfers and how they were handled and ending with five specific proposals to minimize the adverse impact of transfers on residents.