Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 10 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Part 1 › Subtitle 07 - HOSPITALS › Chapter 10.07.09 - Residents' Bill of Rights: Comprehensive Care Facilities and Extended Care Facilities › Section 10.07.09.08 - Resident's Rights and Services

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A.
				  A nursing facility shall provide care for residents in a manner and in an
				  environment that maintains or enhances each resident's dignity and respect, and
				  in full recognition of the resident's individuality.
B. A nursing facility may not interfere with
				  a resident's exercise of rights guaranteed under the Constitution or laws of
				  the United States and Maryland.
C.
				  A resident has the right to:
(1) Reside and
				  receive services in a nursing facility with reasonable accommodations of
				  individual needs and preferences, except when accommodations would endanger the
				  health or safety of the resident or other residents;
(2) Receive treatment, care, and services
				  that are in an environment that promotes maintenance or enhancement of each
				  resident's quality of life;
(3) A
				  dignified existence, self-determination, and communication with and access to
				  individuals and services inside and outside the nursing facility;
(4) Be free of interference, coercion,
				  discrimination, or reprisal from the nursing facility when exercising the
				  resident's rights;
(5) Be free
				  from:
(a) Physical abuse;
(b) Verbal abuse;
(c) Sexual abuse;
(d) Physical or chemical restraints imposed
				  for purposes of discipline or convenience;
(e) Mental abuse; and
(f) Involuntary seclusion;
(6) Choose an attending physician,
				  if the physician agrees to abide by nursing facility policies and procedures,
				  and the regulations in this chapter;
(7) Choose a pharmacy to obtain medications
				  as set forth in COMAR
				  10.07.02.15B(3)
				  and D(3);
(8) Be fully informed in
				  advance about care and treatment, and of proposed changes in that care or
				  treatment;
(9) Participate in
				  planning care and treatment, or changes in care or treatment;
(10) Seek advice from the resident care
				  advisory committee concerning the options for medical care and treatment for an
				  individual with a life-threatening condition in accordance with Health-General
				  Article, §19-370 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland;
(11) Consent to or refuse treatment,
				  including the right to accept or reject artificially administered sustenance in
				  accordance with State law;
(12)
				  Self-administer drugs if the interdisciplinary team determines that the
				  practice is safe;
(13) Access the
				  resident's records within 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, upon an
				  oral or written request;
(14)
				  Purchase copies of all or part of the resident's records upon request by giving
				  2 working days advance notice to the nursing facility;
(15) Approve or refuse the release of
				  personal and clinical records to an individual outside the nursing facility
				  unless:
(a) Otherwise provided by
				  Health-General Article, §4-301 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland;
				  or
(b) The release is required by
				  law;
(16) Personal
				  privacy, including:
(a) Confidentiality of
				  personal records; and
(b) Privacy
				  in:
(i) Medical treatment, and
(ii) Personal care;
(17) Privacy in the resident's
				  room, including the right to have nursing facility staff knock before entering
				  the resident's room;
(18) Privacy
				  in written communication, including the right to:
(a) Send and receive mail promptly without it
				  being opened by anyone other than the resident, except when the resident
				  requests assistance; and
(b) Have
				  access to stationery, postage, and writing implements at the resident's own
				  expense;
(19) Reasonable
				  access to the private use of a telephone;
(20) Meet or visit privately with any
				  individual the resident chooses, subject to reasonable restrictions by the
				  nursing facility on visiting hours and places;
(21) Visit or meet privately with the
				  following, to whom the nursing facility shall provide reasonable access:
(a) A representative of the Secretary of the
				  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;
(b) A representative of the
				  Department;
(c) The resident's
				  personal physician;
(d) A
				  representative of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program;
(e) The agency responsible for advocacy and
				  protection of developmentally disabled and mentally ill individuals in
				  Maryland; or
(f) Any other legal
				  representative;
(22)
				  Visit privately with the resident's spouse or domestic partner,
(23) Consent or deny consent to all visits,
				  and may deny or withdraw consent at any time;
(24) Examine the results of the most recent
				  federal and State surveys, including the annual survey and any subsequent
				  complaint investigations, not otherwise prohibited by law, of the nursing
				  facility and any plans of correction prompted by these surveys;
(25) Receive notice before the resident's
				  roommate is changed and, to the extent possible, have input into the choice of
				  roommate;
(26) Voice grievances,
				  including those about treatment or care that is or fails to be furnished, and
				  recommend changes in policies and services, to the staff or administrator of
				  the nursing facility, the Licensing and Certification Administration, the
				  Office on Aging, or any other person, without fear of reprisal, restraint,
				  interference, coercion, or discrimination;
(27) Prompt efforts by the nursing facility
				  to resolve grievances the resident may have, including those with respect to
				  the behavior of other residents;
(28) Contact and receive information from
				  agencies acting as client advocates;
(29) Refuse to perform services for the
				  nursing facility;
(30) Perform
				  services for the nursing facility if the resident chooses, only if:
(a) The nursing facility has documented the
				  need or desire for work in the plan of care;
(b) The plan specifies the nature of the
				  services to be performed and whether the services are voluntary or
				  paid;
(c) Compensation for paid
				  services is at or above prevailing rates; and
(d) The resident agrees in writing to the
				  work arrangement described in the plan of care, and the contract is part of the
				  resident's record;
(31)
				  Share a room with the resident's spouse if both spouses consent and it is not
				  medically contraindicated; and
(32)
				  Participate in social, religious, and community activities if the activities do
				  not interfere with the rights of other residents in the nursing
				  facility.