(A) The rights of residents of a home shall
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The right to a safe and clean living
environment pursuant to the medicare and medicaid programs and applicable state
laws and regulations prescribed by the public health council;
(2) The right to be free from physical,
verbal, mental, and emotional abuse and to be treated at all times with
courtesy, respect, and full recognition of dignity and individuality;
(3) Upon admission and thereafter, the right
to adequate and appropriate medical treatment and nursing care and to other
ancillary services that comprise necessary and appropriate care consistent with
the program for which the resident contracted. This care shall be provided
without regard to considerations such as race, color, religion, national origin,
age, or source of payment for care.
(4) The right to have all reasonable requests
and inquiries responded to promptly;
(5) The right to have clothes and bed sheets
changed as the need arises, to ensure the resident's comfort or sanitation;
(6) The right to obtain from the home, upon
request, the name and any specialty of any physician or other person responsible
for the resident's care or for the coordination of care;
(7) The right, upon request, to be assigned,
within the capacity of the home to make the assignment, to the staff physician
of the resident's choice, and the right, in accordance with the rules and
written policies and procedures of the home, to select as the attending
physician a physician who is not on the staff of the home. If the cost of a
physician's services is to be met under a federally supported program, the
physician shall meet the federal laws and regulations governing such services.
(8) The right to participate in decisions that
affect the resident's life, including the right to communicate with the
physician and employees of the home in planning the resident's treatment or care
and to obtain from the attending physician complete and current information
concerning medical condition, prognosis, and treatment plan, in terms the
resident can reasonably be expected to understand; the right of access to all
information in the resident's medical record; and the right to give or withhold
informed consent for treatment after the consequences of that choice have been
carefully explained. When the attending physician finds that it is not medically
advisable to give the information to the resident, the information shall be made
available to the resident's sponsor on the resident's behalf, if the sponsor has
a legal interest or is authorized by the resident to receive the information.
The home is not liable for a violation of this division if the violation is
found to be the result of an act or omission on the part of a physician selected
by the resident who is not otherwise affiliated with the home.
(9) The right to withhold payment for
physician visitation if the physician did not visit the resident;
(10) The right to confidential treatment of
personal and medical records, and the right to approve or refuse the release of
these records to any individual outside the home, except in case of transfer to
another home, hospital, or health care system, as required by law or rule, or as
required by a third-party payment contract;
(11) The right to privacy during medical
examination or treatment and in the care of personal or bodily needs;
(12) The right to refuse, without jeopardizing
access to appropriate medical care, to serve as a medical research subject;
(13) The right to be free from physical or
chemical restraints or prolonged isolation except to the minimum extent
necessary to protect the resident from injury to self, others, or to property
and except as authorized in writing by the attending physician for a specified
and limited period of time and documented in the resident's medical record.
Prior to authorizing the use of a physical or chemical restraint on any
resident, the attending physician shall make a personal examination of the
resident and an individualized determination of the need to use the restraint on
that resident.
Physical or chemical restraints or isolation
may be used in an emergency situation without authorization of the attending
physician only to protect the resident from injury to self or others. Use of the
physical or chemical restraints or isolation shall not be continued for more
than twelve hours after the onset of the emergency without personal examination
and authorization by the attending physician. The attending physician or a staff
physician may authorize continued use of physical or chemical restraints for a
period not to exceed thirty days, and at the end of this period and any
subsequent period may extend the authorization for an additional period of not
more than thirty days. The use of physical or chemical restraints shall not be
continued without a personal examination of the resident and the written
authorization of the attending physician stating the reasons for continuing the
restraint.
If physical or chemical restraints are used
under this division, the home shall ensure that the restrained resident receives
a proper diet. In no event shall physical or chemical restraints or isolation be
used for punishment, incentive, or convenience.
(14) The right to the pharmacist of the
resident's choice and the right to receive pharmaceutical supplies and services
at reasonable prices not exceeding applicable and normally accepted prices for
comparably packaged pharmaceutical supplies and services within the community;
(15) The right to exercise all civil rights,
unless the resident has been adjudicated incompetent pursuant to Chapter 2111.
of the Revised Code and has not been restored to legal capacity, as well as the
right to the cooperation of the home's administrator in making arrangements for
the exercise of the right to vote;
(16) The right of access to opportunities that
enable the resident, at the resident's own expense or at the expense of a
third-party payer, to achieve the resident's fullest potential, including
educational, vocational, social, recreational, and habilitation programs;
(17) The right to consume a reasonable amount
of alcoholic beverages at the resident's own expense, unless not medically
advisable as documented in the resident's medical record by the attending
physician or unless contradictory to written admission policies;
(18) The right to use tobacco at the
resident's own expense under the home's safety rules and under applicable laws
and rules of the state, unless not medically advisable as documented in the
resident's medical record by the attending physician or unless contradictory to
written admission policies;
(19) The right to retire and rise in
accordance with the resident's reasonable requests, if the resident does not
disturb others or the posted meal schedules and upon the home's request remains
in a supervised area, unless not medically advisable as documented by the
attending physician;
(20) The right to observe religious
obligations and participate in religious activities; the right to maintain
individual and cultural identity; and the right to meet with and participate in
activities of social and community groups at the resident's or the group's
initiative;
(21) The right upon reasonable request to
private and unrestricted communications with the resident's family, social
worker, and any other person, unless not medically advisable as documented in
the resident's medical record by the attending physician, except that
communications with public officials or with the resident's attorney or
physician shall not be restricted. Private and unrestricted communications shall
include, but are not limited to, the right to:
(a) Receive, send, and mail sealed, unopened
correspondence;
(b) Reasonable access to a telephone for
private communications;
(c) Private visits at any reasonable hour.
(22) The right to assured privacy for visits
by the spouse, or if both are residents of the same home, the right to share a
room within the capacity of the home, unless not medically advisable as
documented in the resident's medical record by the attending physician;
(23) The right upon reasonable request to have
room doors closed and to have them not opened without knocking, except in the
case of an emergency or unless not medically advisable as documented in the
resident's medical record by the attending physician;
(24) The right to retain and use personal
clothing and a reasonable amount of possessions, in a reasonably secure manner,
unless to do so would infringe on the rights of other residents or would not be
medically advisable as documented in the resident's medical record by the
attending physician;
(25) The right to be fully informed, prior to
or at the time of admission and during the resident's stay, in writing, of the
basic rate charged by the home, of services available in the home, and of any
additional charges related to such services, including charges for services not
covered under the medicare or medicaid program. The basic rate shall not be
changed unless thirty days notice is given to the resident or, if the resident
is unable to understand this information, to the resident's sponsor.
(26) The right of the resident and person
paying for the care to examine and receive a bill at least monthly for the
resident's care from the home that itemizes charges not included in the basic
rates;
(27)(a) The right to be free from financial
exploitation;
(b) The right to manage the resident's own
personal financial affairs, or, if the resident has delegated this
responsibility in writing to the home, to receive upon written request at least
a quarterly accounting statement of financial transactions made on the
resident's behalf. The statement shall include:
(i) A complete record of all funds, personal
property, or possessions of a resident from any source whatsoever, that have
been deposited for safekeeping with the home for use by the resident or the
resident's sponsor;
(ii) A listing of all deposits and withdrawals
transacted, which shall be substantiated by receipts which shall be available
for inspection and copying by the resident or sponsor.
(28) The right of the resident
to be allowed unrestricted access to the resident's property on deposit at
reasonable hours, unless requests for access to property on deposit are so
persistent, continuous, and unreasonable that they constitute a nuisance;
(29) The right to receive reasonable notice
before the resident's room or roommate is changed, including an explanation of
the reason for either change.
(30) The right not to be transferred or
discharged from the home unless the transfer is necessary because of one of the
following:
(a) The welfare and needs of the resident
cannot be met in the home.
(b) The resident's health has improved
sufficiently so that the resident no longer needs the services provided by the
home.
(c) The safety of individuals in the home is
endangered.
(d) The health of individuals in the home
would otherwise be endangered.
(e) The resident has failed, after reasonable
and appropriate notice, to pay or to have the medicare or medicaid program pay
on the resident's behalf, for the care provided by the home. A resident shall
not be considered to have failed to have the resident's care paid for if the
resident has applied for medicaid, unless both of the following are the case:
(i) The resident's application, or a
substantially similar previous application, has been denied by the county
department of job and family services.
(ii) If the resident appealed the denial
pursuant to division (C) of section 5101.35 of the Revised Code, the director of
job and family services has upheld the denial.
(f) The home's license has
been revoked, the home is being closed pursuant to section 3721.08, sections
5111.35 to 5111.62, or section 5155.31 of the Revised Code, or the home
otherwise ceases to operate.
(g) The resident is a recipient of medicaid,
and the home's participation in the medicaid program is involuntarily terminated
or denied.
(h) The resident is a beneficiary under the
medicare program, and the home's participation in the medicare program is
involuntarily terminated or denied.
(31) The right to voice grievances and
recommend changes in policies and services to the home's staff, to employees of
the department of health, or to other persons not associated with the operation
of the home, of the resident's choice, free from restraint, interference,
coercion, discrimination, or reprisal. This right includes access to a
residents' rights advocate, and the right to be a member of, to be active in,
and to associate with persons who are active in organizations of relatives and
friends of nursing home residents and other organizations engaged in assisting
residents.
(32) The right to have any significant change
in the resident's health status reported to the resident's sponsor. As soon as
such a change is known to the home's staff, the home shall make a reasonable
effort to notify the sponsor within twelve hours.
(B) A sponsor may act on a resident's behalf
to assure that the home does not deny the residents' rights under sections
3721.10 to 3721.17 of the Revised Code.
(C) Any attempted waiver of the rights listed
in division (A) of this section is void.
NURSING HOME RESIDENTS' RIGHTS
