Ron DeSantis just spent two years making Florida the toughest state in America on squatters.
Nobody told Charlotte Paynter.
The 69-year-old has been sitting in Room 373 at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare since last October – and now a Florida judge is the only thing standing between her and a sheriff's deputy with an eviction order.
The Woman Who Will Not Leave
Doctors cleared Paynter for discharge on October 6, 2025, after determining she no longer needed acute care.
She didn't leave.
The hospital coordinated with her family and offered transportation to help her get proper identification.
They issued a written order to vacate in November – nearly two months after discharge.
She still didn't leave.
On March 3, Tallahassee Memorial filed a civil lawsuit asking a state judge to authorize the Leon County Sheriff's Office to physically remove her.
A court hearing is scheduled for March 30.
https://twitter.com/unlimited_ls/status/2034613006252802068?s=20
No attorney is listed for Paynter.
Phone numbers in public records are disconnected. Her last known address dates to 2020 in South Carolina.
A Bed Someone Else Cannot Have
This isn't just a quirky story about a stubborn patient.
Every day Paynter occupies Room 373, a patient who actually needs acute care can't have it.
U.S. hospital occupancy is running at 75% nationally – 11 points higher than pre-pandemic levels – and UCLA researchers warn the country is headed toward a critical bed shortage by 2032.
At 85% occupancy, emergency departments log dangerous wait times, medication errors spike, and hospitals struggle to function.
One occupied bed in an acute care unit isn't a small thing.
https://twitter.com/BANKOFTRUE5T/status/2034614254788124817?s=20
It's the difference between a heart attack patient getting admitted or getting shuffled to another facility at 2 a.m.
DeSantis Built the Hammer and Florida Needs to Use It
Here's the irony Florida can't escape.
DeSantis signed HB 621 in 2024, letting law enforcement remove residential squatters immediately – no lengthy court battle, just a verified complaint and a sheriff.
In June 2025, he extended those protections to commercial properties and hotels, explicitly calling out California and New York for coddling squatters while Florida protected property owners.
And yet here sits Charlotte Paynter – five months past discharge in an acute care bed – while Tallahassee Memorial navigates a civil lawsuit and waits for a March 30 hearing.
Hospitals apparently weren't covered under the commercial property expansion.
So a woman who hasn't needed medical care since October is getting free room and board in one of Tallahassee's premier healthcare facilities while sick people wait outside.
https://twitter.com/MarcoWatts_/status/2034618996880736294?s=20
Some will ask what Paynter was supposed to do.
Her last known address is from 2020.
Her phones are disconnected.
Nobody is suggesting she had great options.
But neither does the next patient who needs that bed.
And that patient is the one Tallahassee Memorial is actually responsible for.
The judge on March 30 has one job: sign the order and let the sheriff do his.
Sources:
- Associated Press, "Florida Hospital Sues to Evict Patient Who Won't Leave Room 5 Months After Discharge," U.S. News & World Report, March 18, 2026.
- Natasha Anderson, "Stubborn Patient Is Squatting in Florida Hospital," Daily Mail, March 18, 2026.
- Governor Ron DeSantis, "Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Anti-Squatting Legislation," Florida Governor's Office, June 2, 2025.
- Fox 35 Orlando, "Ron DeSantis Signs Two Bills Cracking Down on Commercial Squatters," June 2, 2025.
- HealthDay News, "U.S. Facing Critical Hospital Bed Shortage," February 20, 2025.
