DE SB246

Healthcare institutions must provide written notice within 3-5 business days of determining a patient no longer requires acute care, informing the patient, surrogate, or family members that a guardian appointment would be beneficial and should be filed within 10 business days.

If no guardianship process is initiated within 10 business days of the first notice, the institution must send a second notice requiring guardianship proceedings to begin within 10 additional business days or the institution will initiate the process itself.

Healthcare institutions may petition for a court-appointed guardian if guardianship proceedings have not been initiated within the timeframe in the second notice, or if a guardian has not been appointed within 30 days of petition filing.

The appointed guardian must have full authority to transfer the patient from acute care to less restrictive non-acute care settings such as in-home health care or long-term care facilities.

The bill addresses extended hospitalizations of non-acute patients abandoned by family members, reducing unnecessary hospital stays that pose infection risks and limit patient quality of life.