Discharge planning is a process fraught with many levels of challenge for patients, families, physicians, and social workers. Research has validated that elderly patients who are living alone present the greatest challenge in determining an appropriate discharge. Ethical dilemmas are the result of systemic problems and clinical issues that challenge the patient's autonomy and informed decision-making. Few decisions are made in healthcare that so significantly impact the interest of so many people as do decisions about discharge, especially when placement in a nursing home is being considered. Those most at risk for placement are those who live alone, are poor, and are among the old-old. Most often they are women. Women are disadvantaged in numerous ways, both by demographics and by the double jeopardy of being a woman and being old. They are marginalized and discriminated against as a result of the perceptions and stereotypes that society has about elderly women. Exploration of this double prejudice of gender and age is foundational for the argument that elderly women are particularly harmed by how discharge planning is currently carried out. Cultural expectations that define elderly women including the pressure they experience to defer to the needs, priorities, and will of others are explored. The works of numerous feminist thinkers, including those who have explored issues of elderly women and the use of narrative to empower them are foundational to this project. Narrative ethics is examined as a method of moral deliberation in resolving discharge planning issues. It is a process that is respectful of the elderly woman's history, relationships, and values. It is also a way of empowering her to voice her wishes. The history of narrative in philosophical thought is explored and used to substantiate the credibility of narrative in moral decision-making. Other feminist claims about relational autonomy and trust are considered as well as the feminist connection to narrative. Finally, Habermas's Discourse Ethics is contemplated as a possible methodology for using narrative in a formal way to resolve discharge planning issues.