- What would you do if your patient declined to leave the hospital?
Usually, people avoid going to the hospital as long as they can. And if you’re admitted to a hospital, you’d certainly hope to get out at the first opportunity.
A Florida hospital is struggling with the opposite problem. They have a patient who refuses to go away.
The Tallahassee Memorial Hospital’s (TMH) room 373 has been occupied for months. However, the woman staying in there has no reason to be at the hospital.
She was discharged months ago, yet has stubbornly refused to leave. Although the TMH claims to have talked to her family members to get her out, she is still living in the hospital room.
Now, with seemingly no other option left, the hospital has sued the woman. In the lawsuit, the TMH has essentially asked the local court to issue an eviction order against the woman.
The case is odd, since there are so many quirks of the law to take into account regarding patient care and hospitals’ responsibilities. While the court case plays out, the woman is still squatting in room 373.
The Woman Who Said No
The saga of the woman who refused to leave reportedly began on October 6, 2025. On that day, the TMH formally discharged the woman, who had been admitted as an inpatient at an earlier date.
Much to the staff’s surprise, she said, “No.”
Since then, the TMH has been stuck in a conundrum. The woman has persistently refused to leave the hospital, and the hospital has been limited in the methods it can use to force her to leave.
According to the complaint filed by the TMH, the case somehow hinges on identification documents.
“TMH staff made repeated efforts to assist the defendant in safely completing discharge,” The complaint reads, according to Tallahassee Democrat.
“TMH offered assistance, including coordination with family members and offering non-emergency medical transportation to obtain necessary identification.”
According to the hospital, they notified the woman a month after her discharge date that she’d have to leave or get sued. Due to her ongoing refusal to leave, the TMH is now asking a Tallahassee judge for an injunction ordering her to get out. The hospital has also asked the court to authorize the sheriff’s office to assist if necessary.
Plenty of Unknowns
However, how the judge will ultimately rule is up in the air. There are a lot of unknowns about the case, partially due to the TMH’s inability to release information due to patient confidentiality.
To begin with, we only know that the woman was discharged on October 6. It’s not clear how long she had stayed at the hospital prior to that date.
What’s more, the TMH can’t (obviously) tell the public why the woman was hospitalized. As such, her current medical condition is a question mark, although the hospital has deemed her fit enough to be released.
It’s also not perfectly clear why the woman needs her ID, or why she doesn’t have it with her. Typically, hospitals need to verify your identity to set up transportation or provide other post-care services.
Can Hospitals Evict You?
This case has raised some questions over whether hospitals can legally evict patients who refuse to leave. The answer begins either with a “no, but…” or a “yes, if…”
In general, if a hospital receives Medicare funding, it can’t just kick you out under federal law. These hospitals, including the TMH, must provide sufficient care to stabilize the condition of anyone coming to the emergency department, regardless of their condition or ability to pay.
Once the hospital staff has determined that the patient is well enough, they can be discharged with a follow-up care plan. But what if the patient does what the woman does and refuses to leave?
This might’ve popped into your mind, but the hospital legally can’t get the security to kick the patient out. Hospitals aren’t landlords, so they can’t use the same kind of eviction methods.
Although the patient no longer has the right of occupancy at the hospital post-discharge, the hospital has to get a judge’s order to legally “evict” them. Getting the order, however, can be a rocky path.
The hospital must prove that the patient was properly discharged and no longer needs immediate inpatient care. However, they’ll likely also have to prove that the patient’s current condition (both physical and mental) won’t prevent them from living outside the hospital.
Finally, the judge will likely want to see proof that the patient’s ongoing presence somehow harms or inconveniences the hospital’s normal operations.
In other words, it’s a legal quagmire.