Does a nursing home have the right to clear contents of a patients storage room?

I run a self storage facility and one of my clients is in a nursing home for the rest of his life. The nursing home called me and stated that they want to close out his account and remove his contents because their would be no more funding by the state's V.A. office to pay for the unit (becuase all the money has to go to the nursing home). The nursing home does not pay for the unit. The nurse who called me typed a letter in the client's name stating he is vacating the unit and the client signed the letter. My concern is what in the world would a nursing home do with their pt's stuff ? If the client is bedridden what the heck is he gonna do with all his stuff. I think their shaming him ?

Actually, the nursing home can close out accounts IF they have the family's permission. Sometimes the family will not want to deal with it, so they leave it up to the administrator. They confer with the administrative assistant, and if there is no money to pay for the storage shed, then they will probably collect the stuff, give whatever the patient wants back to him, then ask permission to donate the rest of the items to other residents. Keep in mind that a private room at a nursing home runs at 3900 dollars a month in our facility, and his may be much more expensive.

The main thing you should question is why the admistrative assistant didn't contact you. Usually the nurses don't handle financial matters, so you need to check up on that before doing anything.

As for the first poster named Miranda, I don't know what nursing home she worked at (a very low class one), but I've never seen nurses take a patient's things home with them. One, we don't want old electronics and sweat pants, and two, we donate it to residents who may need it if it's still in decent condition. We have many residents who are not provided with enough clothes and personal items by their families, so we take donations from others when their monthly funds are used up.

it should be the state's V.A. office, family, his appointed power of attorney. the nursing has no power behind them to do such things. so you should call the V.A.office and tell them who u are and whats going on. more then likely it would get taken to the home and the employees would have a good ol day(work in nursing home, have seen some sad ****)

They would probably sell what is not immediately usable to the patient, and keep the funds. And probably, since the patient's name is on the letter, have the legal right to do so.
Some places to start checking would be with your client/the patient himself. If he is competant, then probably his signature on the paper allows the nursing home to act.
The state's attorney's office is another place to go Tell them the story.
And, if you release the belongings, knowing they may not have the right to them, you might be in hot water. If you have an attorney, or access to one, by whatever means, including the internet, check it out.
But, as I said, the signature on the letter is enough, unless someone can prove the patient was forced to sign. And, in addition, the nursing home would have not had the right to force it.

This man's power of attorney should be the one sending you this letter. I would contact your lawyer. If this man has family anywhere and they found out that you went along with this and they wanted some of his stuff, they could potentially come back on you and accuse you of theft. Leave a paper trail. Cover you a**. Once you speak to your attorney, follow his/her instructions and then you will at least have your concern on record. There are all kinds in health care. I worked in one facility that actually had a maitenece man making crack in the shed out back. Please do yourself a favor and investigate this further. You sound decent. May God bless you for being concerned for this man. It sounds like someone needs to stand up for him.

I'd call the nursing home and ask to speak with the patient himself. If he's sound enough to sign a letter and nobody has power of attorney over him, he should be allowed to take a personal phone call. Ask him if he signed it under duress, was clearing it out his idea or did they tell him he needed to, ask him if he has any family who would be willing to talk with you. If anything at all sounds fishy to you, call an attorney--family law. Most attorneys will answer a few simple questions over the phone at no charge.

Contact this patients family or POA.

Absolutely NOT. If you turn the unit over to them, you will be held responsible. Contact a lawyer or find out who the power of attorney is. If the patient has signed a letter to vacate the unit, it still doesn't give the nursing home a right to do it for him. Laws are strict about things of this nature and you can find yourself in a big mess.