Mark Chambers’ dream “to be part of the world outside” the nursing home he lived in for many years finally came true. On February 1, 2010, Chambers moved into his own apartment, where he receives case management and independent living skills assistance. Mr. Chambers has said that “living on my own is wonderful.”
Over the next five years, Chambers and several hundred other residents of the Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco will move to independent apartments linked to the supportive services they need, according to the settlement in a class-action lawsuit approved on September 28, 2008.
The case known as Chambers v. San Francisco was resolved by agreement between the city and five advocacy groups representing recipients of California’s Medicaid benefits, called Medi-Cal, who live at Laguna Honda, are in San Francisco General Hospital and eligible for discharge to Laguna Honda, are on the waiting list for the nursing home or have been discharged from it within the past two years.