2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 18 - Bill of Rights for Elderly Persons (§§ 341 — 347) › § 344 - Rights of elderly persons—Admission in care institution

Every elderly person who is admitted into a public or private care institution shall be entitled to:
(a) Be informed ahead of time of all the services said institution renders and the cost thereof.
(b) Be informed upon admission to the establishment of the state of their health; to have the opportunity to share in planning their treatment, unless it is counterindicated for medical reasons and it is so stated in their record; and to refuse to be given experimental treatment.
(c) Not be subjected to discrimination because the payment to the establishment comes from a specific source, concerning their admission, transfer or release from the establishment.
(d) Have a choice in obtaining the primary services needed for their care, whether these services are legal, medical, social, of assistive technology or others.
(e) Not be transferred or removed from the establishment without their consent, unless the director or administrator of the establishment notifies them of it no less than thirty (30) days in advance and provides a plan for their release from the establishment which specifies the reasons for the transfer, if it is ordered and is against their will.
(f) Not be subjected to corporal or emotional abuse or psychological pressures; and in case of abuse, any person legally authorized shall be empowered to remove the elderly person with his or her consent. In those cases whereby the elderly person is not capable of making decisions or is mentally disabled, through the authorization of the legal guardian, should be there one, or a court order.
(g) Not be administered any medication whatsoever or be restrained physically or chemically unless it is part of the medical treatment for a specific health condition, and is in accordance with the standards established by the medical profession for that treatment. The nature, amount and reasons to administer any medication or chemical restraint shall be promptly entered in the record.
(h) Not be restrained physically or chemically nor isolated except for therapeutic reasons to keep the person from harming himself or others or damaging the property. In no case shall restraints be used to punish or discipline a person, nor shall restraints be used for the convenience of the establishment’s staff. Restraints shall be used only by written orders of the physician. The order shall specify the data, observations and evidence that gave rise to the use of restraints and the purposes for which they will be used. The order shall also specify the length of time for the restraint and the clinical grounds for said timespan. No restraint order shall be valid for more than twenty-four (24) hours. If further restraint is required, a new order must be issued by the physician. The condition of the person who has been restrained or isolated shall be determined every fifteen (15) minutes, and said information shall be entered into the clinical record.
(i) The privacy of their correspondence.
(j) Receive visits which shall be directed to maintain the family ties and planned to be convenient for the resident and his or her visitors without hampering the operations of the establishment.
The establishment shall be flexible regarding the visits of relatives and friends who for a justified reason are unable to visit during the appointed hours.
(k) Keep in communication with the persons they wish to, including their representatives, and with community groups and intermediaries who may visit the residents on their own initiative.
(l) Be allowed to manage their own finances or be given a report regarding them, if the responsibility was delegated on another person.
(m) Keep their medical and personal records confidential, and only if the aged person is transferred shall they be removed from the institution.
(n) Be treated with dignity and have privacy during their treatment and personal care.
(o) Be allowed to use clothing of their choice and to have their own space within the institution, unless this infringes on the rights of the other residents or is forbidden as part of their medical treatment.
(p) Be provided privacy, if married, for conjugal visits. If both spouses are residents of the institution they should share sleeping quarters, provided the establishment’s facilities allow it.
History —July 12, 1986, No. 121, p. 389, § 4; Aug. 31, 2000, No. 260, § 1; Aug. 7, 2008, No. 196, § 3.