New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS › Chapter 27A - STANDARDS FOR LICENSURE OF RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES NOT LOCATED WITH, AND OPERATED BY, LICENSED HEALTH CARE FACILITIES › Subchapter 14 - RESIDENT RIGHTS › Section 5:27A-14.2 - Rights of each resident

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Resident rights, policies, and procedures
				shall ensure that, at a minimum, each resident admitted to the facility:
1. Is informed of these rights, as evidenced by
				his or her written acknowledgment, and is given a statement of these rights and the
				facility's rules and regulations, and an explanation of the resident's
				responsibility to adhere to all regulations of the facility and to respect the
				personal rights and private property of other residents;
2. Is informed, and is given a written statement
				prior to or at the time of admission and during stay, as documented in the
				resident's record, of services available in the facility and of all charges
				including room, board, laundry, and personal services, and is given written
				notification of at least 30 days prior to any change in charges. This statement
				shall include the payment, fee, deposit, and refund policy of the
				facility;
3. Is allowed to retain the
				services of his or her personal physician, advanced practice nurse, or physician
				assistant at his or her own expense or under a third-party payment system; is
				assured of assistance in obtaining medical care; may refuse medication and
				treatment, after being informed of the effects of such actions; and may refuse to
				participate in research projects (but if the resident chooses to participate, his or
				her informed written consent shall be obtained);
4. Is, except in the case of an emergency,
				transferred or discharged only for medical reasons or for his or her welfare or that
				of other residents upon the written order of the resident's physician, advanced
				practice nurse, or physician assistant, who shall document the reason for the
				transfer or discharge in the resident's record, or for nonpayment for the resident's
				stay, or for repeated violations of the facility's written rules and regulations
				after being advised of them in writing, if required by the Department, or to comply
				with clearly expressed and documented resident choice, or in conformance with the
				New Jersey Advance Directives for Health Care Act,
				26:2H-53 et seq., as specified in
				5:27A-4.16;
i. If a transfer or discharge on a non-emergency
				basis is requested by the facility, the resident or, in the case of an adjudicated
				mentally incompetent resident, the next of kin and/or sponsor and/or guardian, shall
				be given at least 30 days advance notice in writing of such transfer or
				discharge;
5. Is encouraged
				and assisted, throughout the period of stay, to exercise rights as a resident and as
				a citizen, and to this end may voice grievance on behalf of himself or herself or
				others, initiate action for damages or other relief for deprivations or
				infringements of the right to treatment and care established by any applicable
				statute, rule, regulation, or contract, and recommend changes in policies and
				services to facility personnel and/or to outside representatives of the resident's
				choice, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal.
i. The administrator shall provide all residents
				and/or next of kin and/or sponsors and/or guardians with the following names,
				addresses, and telephone numbers where complaints may be lodged:
Supervisor of Enforcement
Residential Health Care Evaluation Program
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
P.O. Box 804
Trenton, N.J. 08625-0804
Telephone: (609) 984-4258; and
State of New Jersey
Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly
PO Box 808
Trenton, N.J. 08625-0808
Telephone: (800) 792-8820
ii. These telephone numbers shall be conspicuously
				posted in the facility at every public telephone and on all bulletin boards used for
				posting public notices. The facility shall also conspicuously post the name,
				address, and telephone number of the county welfare agency and the county office on
				aging;
6. Is free from mental
				and physical abuse, free from exploitation, in accordance with
				52:27G-7.1, and free from chemical and
				physical restraints. Medication shall not be used for punishment, for convenience of
				facility personnel, or in quantities that interfere with a resident's living
				activities;
7. Is allowed to keep and use
				his or her personal property, including at least clothing and personal possessions
				used on a daily basis, unless this would be unsafe, impractical, or an infringement
				on the rights of other residents. The residential health care facility must provide
				reasonable protection of the resident's personal possessions from theft, loss, and
				misplacement;
8. Is assured confidential
				treatment of his or her personal and health and social records and has the
				opportunity to examine such records. The written consent of the resident shall be
				obtained for release of his or her records to any individual outside the facility,
				except in the case of the resident's transfer to another health care facility, or as
				required by law or third-party payor;
9.
				Is treated with consideration, respect, and full recognition of his or her dignity,
				individuality, and right to privacy, including, but not limited to, privacy
				concerning his or her treatment and condition and the care of his or her personal
				needs. Privacy of the resident's body shall be maintained during, but not be limited
				to, toileting, bathing, and other activities of personal hygiene, except as needed
				for resident safety or assistance;
10.
				Is not required to perform services for the facility. If the resident volunteers to
				perform services for the facility, the resident shall receive supervision;
11. May associate and communicate privately with
				persons of his or her choice, may have reasonable opportunities for private and
				intimate physical and social interaction with other people, may join with other
				residents or individuals within or outside the facility to work for improvements in
				resident care, may send and receive personal mail unopened, and upon his or her
				request, shall be given assistance in the reading and writing of correspondence.
i. The facility shall, with the consent of the
				resident being visited, permit visitors, legal services representatives, employees
				of the Department of the Public Advocate, employees and volunteers of the Office of
				the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly, representatives of governmental
				welfare and social agencies, and all governmental representatives full and free
				access at a reasonable hour to the facility in order to visit with, and make
				personal, social and legal services available to all residents;
12. May participate in facility activities, and
				meet with, and participate in activities of, social, religious, and community groups
				at his or her discretion; and has the opportunity for physical exercise and the
				opportunity to be outdoors;
13. Is
				allowed to leave the facility. If the resident's absence is medically
				contraindicated, the physician, advanced practice nurse, or physician assistant, or
				other appropriate person(s) shall be notified in the event that the resident leaves
				the facility;
14. May retain and use
				personal property in his or her immediate living quarters, so as to maintain
				individuality and personal dignity, except where the facility can demonstrate that
				such would be unsafe, impractical to do so, infringes upon the rights of others and
				that mere convenience is not the facility's motive to restrict this right. If the
				resident has property on deposit with the facility, he or she shall have daily
				access to such property during specific periods established by the facility, and at
				a reasonable hour;
15. Has the right to
				unrestricted communication, including personal visitation with any person of his or
				her choice during visiting hours, which must be set at reasonable times and for no
				less than 12 hours per day. The facility shall develop policies specifying times
				when visits are allowed and shall conspicuously post its visiting hours;
16. The facility shall develop policies and
				procedures so that the resident is allowed visits from his or her next of kin and/or
				sponsor and/or guardian at any time, if ill. Members of the clergy shall be notified
				by the facility at the resident's request, and shall be admitted at the request of
				the resident and/or next of kin and/or sponsor and/or guardian at any time. Privacy
				shall be ensured for visits with his or her family, friends, clergy, social workers,
				attorney, counselor, advocates, or for professional or business purposes;
17. Is allowed unaccompanied access to telephones,
				in the facility, at a reasonable hour, both to make and to receive confidential
				calls, and has the right to a private telephone at his or her expense. If the
				facility provides telephones which are coin-operated, the resident shall be charged
				no more than the actual cost of the call, except that an access fee no greater than
				the charge for a local call on a coin-operated telephone may be charged;
18. Is not required to go to bed and has the right
				to be outside his or her bedroom;
19. Is
				allowed, or his or her next of kin and/or sponsor and/or guardian and/or
				conservator, as defined in
N.J.S.A. 3B:13A-1
through
3B:13A-36
, is allowed to manage the resident's personal
				financial affairs, or is given at least a quarterly written statement of financial
				transactions made on his or her behalf, should the facility accept his or her
				written delegation of this responsibility.
i. The
				written delegation of responsibility shall be witnessed by a person who is
				unconnected with the facility, its operations, and its personnel, and shall be
				included in the resident's record;
ii.
				The financial statement shall account for all the resident's property on deposit at
				the beginning of the quarter, all deposits and withdrawals transacted during the
				quarter (substantiated by receipts given to the resident or his or her next of kin
				and/or sponsor and/or guardian), and the property on deposit at the end of the
				quarter;
iii. The facility shall
				maintain a monthly written record for each resident who receives Social Security
				Administration (SSA) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks. The written
				record shall include the resident's name, the date and amount of each check, the
				date and amount of each disbursement, the reasons for each disbursement, and to whom
				each disbursement was made;
iv. Each
				resident residing in a residential health care facility who receives benefits
				generated from the Home Energy Assistance Program in accordance with
N.J.A.C. 5:49
shall not be required to provide the owner, operator,
				employee, or his or her representative with any portion of monies provided through
				the Home Energy Assistance Program. No owner, operator, employee, or representative
				of the facility shall coerce, intimidate, or exploit any residents into providing
				them with any portion of their home energy assistance checks;
20. Is assured of exercising civil and religious
				liberties, including the right to independent personal decisions. No religious
				beliefs or practices, or any attendance at religious services, shall be imposed upon
				any resident or facility. Knowledge of available choices shall not be infringed upon
				and the facility shall encourage and assist in the exercise of these rights.
				Arrangements shall be made, at the resident's expense, for attendance at religious
				services of his or her choice when requested;
21. Is not the object of discrimination with
				respect to participation in recreational activities, meals, social or other
				functions. The resident's participation may be restricted or prohibited if
				recommended by the resident's physician, advanced practice nurse, or physician
				assistant in the resident's record, and consented to by the resident;
22. Is not deprived of any constitutional, civil,
				and/or legal rights solely by reason of admission to the facility. Such rights shall
				include, but not be limited to, the right to gainful employment, to move to a
				different living arrangement, to wear his or her own clothing, and to determine his
				or her own dress, hair style, and other personal choices according to individual
				preference; and
23. Is allowed to
				discharge himself or herself from the facility upon presentation of a written notice
				to the administration and, in the case of an adjudicated mentally incompetent
				resident, upon the written consent of his or her next of kin and/or sponsor and/or
				guardian.