New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 8 - HEALTH › Chapter 43 - STANDARDS FOR LICENSURE OF RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES LOCATED WITH, AND OPERATED BY, LICENSED HEALTH CARE FACILITIES › Subchapter 14 - RESIDENT RIGHTS › Section 8:43-14.2 - Rights of each resident

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Resident rights, policies, and procedures
				shall ensure that, as 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
				8:43-4.16;
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:
Long-Term Care Complaints Program
Division of Health Facility Survey and Field Operations
New Jersey Department of Health
PO Box 367
Trenton, NJ 08625-0367
Telephone: (800) 792-9770; and
State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
PO Box 852
Trenton, NJ 08625-0852
Toll-Free Telephone Intake Line: (877) 582-6995
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 State Long-Term Care Ombudsman ,
				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
				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 may, but shall not be
				required to, provide the owner, operator, employee, or their 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 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.