PocketLaw | Tennessee Code | Enumeration of Minimum Rights

Enumeration of Minimum Rights

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Every nursing home resident/patient has the following minimum rights:

To privacy during treatment and personal care. Residents/patients shall be assured of at least visual privacy in multi-bed rooms and in the bathtub, shower and toilet rooms;
If married, to visit in private with their spouse, and, if not medically contraindicated and if space is available, to have conjugal visits with their spouse and to share a room with their spouse;
To visit in private with any person or persons during reasonable hours, subject to the right of the administrator to refuse access to the facility to any person, if the presence of that person in the facility would be injurious to the health and safety of a resident or the staff, or would threaten the security of the property of the resident, staff or facility;
To communicate by telephone with any person they so choose. Telephones shall be readily accessible, and at least one (1) telephone shall be equipped with sound amplification and shall be accessible to patients while in wheelchairs;
To meet with members of, and take part in activities of, social, commercial, religious and community groups, subject to the same limitations as in subdivision (3);
To the delivery of their mail, unopened, on the business day it is received by the facility and to send mail to any person without interference by the facility;
To exercise their rights as residents and citizens, to be able to voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services to nursing home staff and outside persons of their choice, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination or reprisal, and to form and attend patient council meetings to further these rights. The facility shall provide space for these council meetings and, if requested to do so, shall assist residents in organizing and conducting the meetings;
To retain and use personal clothing and possessions, as space permits:
1. The facility must prepare a written personal inventory on the day of admission and update this inventory as new items are acquired or old items are disposed of, as soon as the nursing home becomes aware of these changes;
2. The facility shall have a written policy regarding the protection of residents' personal property and the process by which any loss of property is to be investigated;
To be free from being required by the facility to work or perform services;
To choose, with the help of their authorized family member or guardian, a personal physician. Further, to be fully informed of the resident's medical condition, unless medically contraindicated and documented by the physician in the resident's medical record. The facility shall give the patient and authorized family member the opportunity to participate in the planning of the patient's total care plan and medical treatment;
To refuse treatment:
1. The resident must be informed of the consequences of that decision;
2. The refusal and its reason must be documented in the resident's medical record and reported to the physician; and
3. The right to refuse treatment may not be abridged, restricted, limited or amended by medical contraindication as provided below;
To refuse experimental treatment and drugs. Written consent must be obtained from any resident who agrees to participate in research and retained in the resident's medical record;
To have records kept confidential and private:
1. Written consent by the resident must be obtained before any information can be released, except for persons authorized under the law;
2. If the resident is mentally incompetent, written consent is required by the resident's legal representative; and
3. The facility must have a written policy governing access to and duplication of patient records and copies of the policy shall be available to all residents and their families upon request;
To manage the resident's financial affairs:
1. If the resident requests assistance from the nursing home in managing the resident's financial affairs, the request must be in writing;
2. If the resident desires to designate an additional person to have access to personal funds held for the resident by the facility, this designation must likewise be in writing;
3. In the event of the resident's death, the facility shall provide, within thirty (30) days thereafter, an accounting of the resident's funds held by the facility and an inventory of the resident's personal property held by the facility to the resident's executor, administrator or other persons authorized by law to receive the decedent's property. The facility shall obtain a signed receipt from any person to whom the decedent's property is transferred;
4. In the event of sale of the facility, the seller shall provide written verification that all resident funds and property have been transferred and shall obtain a signed receipt from the new owner. Upon receipt, the buyer shall provide an accounting of funds and property held to the residents;
5. The facility shall maintain and allow each resident access to a written record of all financial arrangements and transactions involving the individual resident's funds;
6. The facility shall provide each resident, or the resident's authorized representative, with a written itemized statement at least quarterly of all financial transactions involving the resident's funds; and
7. The facility shall keep any funds received from a resident for safekeeping in an account separate from the facility's funds, and resident funds shall not be used by the facility;
To be suitably dressed at all times and to be given assistance, when needed in dressing, grooming and maintaining body hygiene;
For the family or guardian to be notified immediately of any accident, sudden illness, disease, unexplained absence or anything unusual involving the resident;
To be free from detention against their will. Residents shall be permitted to go outdoors, when weather permits, and to leave the premises when accompanied by a responsible, authorized adult whenever they wish, unless such activity would be clearly dangerous for the resident;
Not to be involuntarily transferred or discharged, unless the action is medically indicated and so documented by the treating physician in the resident's medical record, is for the patient's welfare or the welfare of the other patients, or is due to nonpayment, except as prohibited by the medicaid program;
Not to suffer discrimination or retaliation by the nursing home because the resident has reported to or cooperated with any board or agency having the responsibility for protecting the rights of residents or has attempted to assert any right protected by state or federal law;
To be free from chemical (drugs) and physical restraints, except upon specific written orders of the treating physician;
To be free from willful abuse or neglect, as these terms are defined by § 71-6-102;
To be told in writing before or at the time of admission about the services available in the facility and about any extra charges, charges for services not covered under medicare or medicaid, or not included in the facility's bill;
To exercise the resident's own independent judgment by executing any documents, including admission forms;
To be treated with consideration, respect and full recognition of the resident's dignity and individuality;
Each facility shall respect a resident's right to the use and quiet enjoyment of such resident's personal room or, in the case of multiple occupancy, that part of the resident's room designated for the resident's personal use. To this end, a resident shall have the right to close the door to the resident's room if the resident wishes, unless the physician or registered nurse, for medical reasons, orders the door to remain ajar or fully open. The staff of the facility shall have the right to check on a resident in the resident's room by coming to the door or into the room as needed to provide medical care, personal care or to ensure the safety of the patient; and
Subject to the availability of space, facilities with multiple occupancy rooms shall honor the request for a common room assignment when both residents make the request and when both are of the same sex or are related by blood or marriage. If the treating physician states there are medical reasons for denial of the request, the facility may deny a joint room assignment.

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