State agency investigating hospital patient dumping case at Talbot House Ministries

LAKELAND, Fla. - It has been five months since FOX 13 first brought to light a hospital patient dumping crisis at a homeless shelter in Lakeland. According to Talbot House Ministries, a state agency is now investigating a case involving drop-offs at their shelter and a hospital in the Tampa Bay area.

The shelter shared in February that hospitals all throughout the state have been leaving patients on their doorstep, sometimes without the patient's or the shelter's consent.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA) requested the number of drop-offs since the beginning of the year from a hospital in Dade City. Talbot House doesn't have the medical capabilities to care for the patients suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues, so its Director of Program and Services hopes this will shed even more light on the crisis.

"It's just more trauma and… what happened to my brother's keeper? What happened to -- we're all human beings and we're supposed to be taking care of one another? That has somehow gotten lost," said Deborah Cozzetti, the Director of Program and Services.

Talbot House has seen a slight reduction in out-of-county drop-offs as well as in-county drop-offs. The provider has been working with local hospitals, so the patients can go through normal procedures and a vetting process if they need extra care. They're still averaging about nine hospital drop-offs a month. Since January of this year, there have been 64 drop-offs. In all of 2023, there were 18 drop-offs, though they weren't tracking them as frequently.

The Lakeland Police Department shared officer body-cam video with FOX 13 that showed homeless patients being dropped off at the shelter.

In a statement, Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said, in part:

"I’m glad to hear that officials are looking into the matter, and I look forward to seeing what their inquiry reveals. The individuals who are being dropped off in Lakeland against their wishes deserve better."

But Cozzetti wonders if the out-of-county patients aren't coming to them, then where are they getting their care?

"They're being released from the hospital, but they still need some care. The shelters are not set up for that and that's the hole," said Cozzetti.

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Cozzetti says states like California and Arizona have stabilization and rehabilitation centers supported by the government and this same model could be applied here. She adds she has gone to Washington D.C. and talked with our U.S. district representatives about the problem because turning a blind eye won't solve anything.

"It just has to happen because it's not going to get any better," she said. "The numbers aren't going to decrease. We have an older population of homeless people now. Senior and baby boomers are getting older and if they've been chronically homeless, their bodies are deteriorating. They can't come to a shelter, so where are they going to go? That has to be addressed."

It's unclear just how long the state investigation will take as ACHA has not yet responded to FOX 13's request for comment.

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