POLICY STATEMENT.
It is the guiding principle of the Division of Veterans Healthcare Services to ensure that residents have the right to a dignified existence, self-determination, and communication with and access to persons and/or services inside and outside the veterans’ home. The veterans’ home shall inform all residents and/or responsible representatives, orally and in writing, in a language that the resident and/or responsible representative understands, of his or her individual rights, and all rules and regulations governing resident conduct and responsibilities during their stay in the facility. Notification of rights will be made prior to or upon admission, and periodically thereafter. The Mandatory Resident Rights shall be posted in a conspicuous, public place in the veterans’ home. The veterans’ home will protect and promote the rights of all residing residents. None of these rights shall be abridged or violated by the facility or any of its staff.
PURPOSE.
This procedure shall serve to ensure that veteran home residents are informed before, or at the time of admission, and periodically thereafter, of their rights and of those rules and regulations governing their conduct and responsibilities during their stay in a veterans nursing home.
PROCEDURE.
A. New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes
1. The New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes (VMH) will ensure the implementation of all veteran home residents’ rights. To this end, each veteran home resident and/or responsible representative will be given a written copy of the Mandatory Resident Rights and will be given an opportunity to ask questions about these rights and have them interpreted in a language they understand. A signed acknowledgment of receipt of the Mandatory Resident Rights will be kept on file.
2. Each resident and/or responsible representative must acknowledge receipt of the Mandatory Resident Rights, via signature, at the time of admission and upon change of rules made by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.
3. Residents and/or the resident’s responsible representative(s) will be informed of any changes in the Residents Bill of Rights or changes in facility rules and regulations immediately upon the change.
4. A written copy of the Mandatory Resident Rights shall be posted in a conspicuous public place in all work areas and distributed to all staff members.
5. Upon request, resident and/or responsible representative will have an opportunity to review and discuss the Mandatory Resident Rights.
6. All staff will be oriented and trained in the Mandatory Resident Rights annually.
7. All staff is responsible for complying with the Mandatory Resident Rights. None of these Mandatory Resident Rights shall be abridged or violated by anyone affiliated in any way with the facility.
B. Each resident shall be entitled to the following rights:
1. To retain the services of a physician or advanced practice nurse the resident chooses, at the resident's own expense or through a health care plan.
2. To have a physician or advanced practice nurse explain to the resident, in language that the resident understands, his or her complete medical condition, the recommended treatment, and the expected results of the treatment, except when the physician deems it medically inadvisable to give such information to the resident and records the reason for such decision in the resident's medical record; and provides an explanation to his or her next of kin or guardian.
3. To participate, to the fullest extent that the resident is able, in planning his or her own medical treatment and care.
4. To refuse medication and treatment after the resident has been informed, in language that the resident understands, of the possible consequences of this decision. The resident may also refuse to participate in experimental research, including the investigations of new drugs and medical devices. The resident will be included in experimental research only when he or she gives informed, written consent to such participation.
5. To be free from physical and mental abuse and/or neglect.
6. To be free from chemical and physical restraints, unless they are authorized by a physician or advanced practice nurse for a limited period of time to protect the resident or others from injury. Under no circumstances will the resident be confined in a locked room or restrained for punishment, for the convenience of the nursing facility staff, or with the use of excessive drug dosages.
7. To manage his or her own finances or to have the responsibility delegated to a family member, an assigned guardian, the nursing facility administrator, or some other individual with power of attorney. The resident's authorization must be in writing and must be witnessed in writing.
8. To receive a written statement or admission agreement describing the services provided by the nursing facility and the related charges. Such statement or admission agreement must be in compliance with all applicable State and Federal laws. This statement or agreement must also include the nursing facility’s policies for payment of fees, deposits, and refunds. The resident must receive this statement or agreement prior to or at the time of admission, and afterward whenever there are any changes.
9. To receive a quarterly written account of all resident’s funds and itemized property that are deposited with the facility for the resident's use and safekeeping, and of all financial transactions with the resident, next of kin, or guardian. This record must also show the amount of property in the account at the beginning and end of the accounting period, as well as a list of all deposits and withdrawals, substantiated by receipts given to the resident or his or her guardian.
10. To have daily access during specified hours to the money and property that the resident has deposited with the nursing facility. The resident also may delegate, in writing, this right of access to his or her representative.
11. To live in safe, decent, and clean conditions in a nursing facility that does not admit more residents than it can safely accommodate while providing adequate nursing care.
12. To be treated with courtesy, consideration, and respect for the resident's dignity and individuality.
13. To receive notice of an intended transfer from one room to another within the facility or a change in roommate, including a right to an informal hearing with the administrator prior to the transfer, as well as a written statement of the reasons for such transfer. The nursing home shall not move the resident to a different bed or room in the facility if the relocation is arbitrary and capricious. A transfer would not be considered arbitrary and capricious if a facility can document a clinical necessity for relocating the resident, such as a need for isolation or to address behavior management problems, or there is a hardship to an applicant for admission through a delay caused by inefficient distribution of beds by gender.
14. To wear his or her own clothes, unless this would be unsafe or impractical. All clothes provided by the nursing facility must fit in a way that is not demeaning to the resident.
15. To keep and use his or her personal property, unless this would be unsafe, impractical, or an infringement on the rights of other residents. The nursing facility must take precautions to ensure that the resident's personal possessions are secure from theft, loss, and misplacement.
16. To have physical privacy. The resident must be allowed, for example, to maintain the privacy of his or her body during medical treatment and personal hygiene activities, such as bathing and using the toilet, unless the resident needs assistance for his or her own safety.
17. To have reasonable opportunities for private and intimate physical and social interaction with other people, including arrangements for privacy when the resident's spouse visits. If the resident and his or her spouse are both residents of the same nursing facility, they must be given the opportunity to share a room, unless this is medically inadvisable, and documented in their records by a physician or advanced practice nurse.
18. To confidential treatment of information about the resident. Information in the resident's records shall not be released to anyone outside the nursing facility without the resident's approval, unless the resident transfers to another health care facility, or unless the release of the information is required by law, a third-party payment contract, or the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services.
19. To receive and send mail in unopened envelopes, unless the resident requests otherwise. The resident also has a right to request and receive assistance in reading
and writing correspondence, unless it is medically contraindicated and documented in the record by a physician or advanced practice nurse.
20. To have unaccompanied access to a telephone at a reasonable hour to conduct private conversations and, if technically feasible, to have a private telephone in his or her living quarters at the resident's own expense.
21. To stay out of bed as long as the resident desires and to be awakened for routine daily care no more than two hours before breakfast is served, unless a physician recommends otherwise and specifies the reasons in the resident's medical record.
22. To receive assistance in awakening, getting dressed, and participating in the facility’s activities, unless a physician or advanced practice nurse specifies reasons in the resident's medical record.
23. To meet with any visitors of the residents choice between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM daily. If the resident is critically ill, he or she may receive visits at any time from next of kin or a guardian, unless a physician or advanced practice nurse documents that this would be harmful to the resident's health.
24. To take part in nursing facility activities, and to meet with and participate in the activities of any social, religious, and community groups, as long as these activities do not disrupt the lives of other residents.
25. To leave the nursing facility during the day with the approval of a physician or advanced practice nurse and with the resident's whereabouts noted on a sign-out record. Arrangements may also be made with the nursing facility for an absence overnight or longer.
26. To refuse to perform services for the nursing facility.
27. To request visits at any time by representatives of the religion of the resident's choice and, upon the resident's request, to attend outside religious services at his or her own expense. No religious beliefs or practices may be imposed on any resident.
28. To participate in meals, recreation, and social activities without being subjected to discrimination based on age, race, religion, sex, nationality, or disability. The resident's participation may be restricted or prohibited only upon the written recommendation of his or her physician or advanced practice nurse.
29. To organize and participate in a Resident Council that presents residents' concerns to the administrator of the facility. A resident’s family has the right to meet in the facility with the families of other residents in the facility.
30. To discharge himself or herself from the nursing facility by presenting a release signed by the resident. If the resident is an adjudicated mental incompetent, the release must be signed by his or her next of kin or guardian.
31. To be transferred or discharged only for one or more of the following reasons and the reason for the transfer of discharge must be recorded in the resident's medical record:
i. In an emergency, with notification of the resident's physician or advanced practice nurse and next of kin or guardian.
ii. For medical reasons or to protect the resident's welfare or the welfare of others.
iii. To comply with clearly expressed and documented resident choice, or in conformance with the New Jersey Advance Directives for Health Care Act, as specified in N.J.A.C. 8:39-9.6(d).
iv. For nonpayment of fees, in situations not prohibited by law.
32. To receive written notice at least 30 days in advance when the nursing facility requests the resident's transfer or discharge, except in an emergency. Written notice shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the New Jersey Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly, and shall also be provided to the resident’s next of kin or guardian 30 days in advance.
33. To be given a written statement of all resident rights as well as any additional regulations established by the nursing facility involving residents rights and responsibilities. The nursing facility shall require each resident or his or her guardian to sign a copy of this document. In addition, a copy must be posted in a conspicuous, public place in the nursing facility. Copies must also be given to the resident's next of kin and distributed to staff members. The nursing facility is responsible for developing and implementing policies to protect resident rights.
34. To retain and exercise all the constitutional, civil, and legal rights to which the resident is entitled by law. The nursing facility must encourage and help each resident to exercise these rights.
35. To voice complaints without being threatened or punished. Each resident is entitled to complain and present his or her grievances to the nursing facility administrator and staff, to government agencies, and to anyone else without fear or interference, discharge, or reprisal. The nursing facility is required to provide each resident and his or her next of kin or guardian with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the government agencies to which a resident can complain and ask questions, including the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly. These names, addresses, and telephone numbers must also be posted in a conspicuous place near every public telephone and on all public bulletin boards in the nursing facility.
C. Each resident, resident's next of kin, and resident's guardian shall be informed of the resident rights enumerated in this subchapter, and each shall be explained to him or her. None of these rights shall be abridge or violated by the facility or any of its staff.
Incorporates:
04-02-001 Residents Bill of Rights Policy Statement (1994) Eliminate
04-03-001 Mandatory Residents Rights (1994) Eliminate
04-03-002 Residents Rights – Notification of Change (1996) Eliminate
04-03-003 Residents Rights – Private intimate/social interaction (1996) Eliminate
Revised: July 2007