STEUBEN COUNTY HEALTH CARE FACILITY
RESIDENT'S BILL OF RIGHTS


As a resident of Steuben County Health Care Facility:
You have the right to be informed or have your designated representative informed, both orally and in writing, of your rights and responsibilities as a resident. This notification shall be made prior to, or at the time of, admission and during your stay.

 

LEGAL RIGHTS

You have the right to exercise your rights as a resident of the facility and as a citizen or resident of the United States and New York State including the right to vote.

You have the right to voice grievances or complaints without discrimination or reprisal.

You have a right to recommend changes in policies and services to facility staff and/or to any outside representatives, free of interference, coercion, discrimination, restraint or reprisal from the facility.

You have the right to obtain prompt efforts by the facility to resolve grievances you may have, including those with respect to the behavior of other residents.

You have a right to have your rights exercised by a person appointed under State Law to act on your behalf.

You have the right to inspect and purchase at cost of production, photocopies of all records pertaining to yourself, upon written request and forty-eight hours (48) hours notice to the facility.

You have the right to examine the results of the most recent survey of the facility conducted by Federal or State surveyors and any plan of correction in effect and any enforcement actions taken by the Department of Health with respect to the facility. The results shall be posted in an area readily accessible to residents.

You have a right to receive information from agencies acting as client advocates and to be given the opportunity to contact these agencies.

NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
ROCHESTER AREA OFFICE
TRIANGLE BUILDING, 335 EAST MAIN STREET
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK 14604
(585) 423-8026
HOTLINE (888) 201-4563

OFFICE OF AGING OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM
3 EAST PULTENEY SQUARE
BATH, NEW YORK 14810
(607) 776-7813

You have a right to be free from chemical and physical restraints unless those restraints are authorized in writing by a Physician for a specific and limited period of time or when necessary to protect you from injury to yourself or to others or as needed in an emergency.

You have the right to exercise your civil and religious liberties including the right to independent personal decisions and knowledge of available choices.

You have the right to request or have your designated representative request and be provided information concerning your specific assignment to a patient classification category under the Resource Utilization Group Classification System.

You have the right to be free from verbal, sexual, mental or physical abuse, corporal punishment and involuntary seclusion.

You have the right under the New York State Health Care Proxy Law to appoint someone who you trust to decide about medical treatment if you lose the ability to decide for yourself.
 

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RIGHT TO CARE AND TREATMENT

You have the right to adequate and appropriate medical care and to be fully informed by a physician, in words you can understand, of your total health status, including but not limited to, your medical condition or diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan.

You have a right to ask questions about your care and have them answered.

You have a right to refuse to participate in experimental research and to refuse medication and treatment after being fully informed and understanding the probably consequences of such action.

You have a right to choose a personal Attending Physician among those with privileges to practice in the facility.

You have a right to be informed of any changes in your care and treatment and to participate in the planning of your care. This right may be exercised by a person appointed under state law to act in your behalf if you are unable to do so.

You have a right to self administer medications unless the Interdisciplinary Care Team has determined that this practice is unsafe for you.
 

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FINANCIAL RIGHTS

You have the right to manage your financial affairs or to assign the management of finances to a third party.

You have the right to set up a safekeeping account for personal funds but may not be required to do so.
 

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RIGHT TO PRIVACY

You have the right to personal privacy and confidentiality of your personal and clinical records.

You have the right to privacy in accommodations, medical treatment, written and telephone communications, personal care, visits and meeting of family and resident groups, but the facility is not required to provide a private room.

You have the right to approve or refuse the release of personal and clinical records to any individual outside the facility except when:

1. You are transferred to another health care institution.

2. The record release is required by law of third party contract.

You have the right to privacy in written communications including the right to send and receive mail promptly that is unopened.

You have a right to have access to stationery, postage and writing implements at your own expense.

You have the right to access telephone equipment which accommodates the visually and/or hearing impaired and is wheelchair accessible.

You have the right to meet in resident and family groups.

You have the right to access to a private area for visits or solitude. Space is available upon request.
 

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RESIDENTIAL RIGHTS

You have a right to refuse to perform services for the facility unless you choose to do so, and only when:

1. There is work that is safe for you.

2. Your need or desire for work is documented in the Interdisciplinary Comprehensive Care Plan as well as the nature of these services and whether they are voluntary or paid.

3. You agree to work arrangement.

You have the right to retain, store securely and use personal possessions including some furnishings and appropriate clothing, as space permits, unless to do so would infringe upon your rights, or health and safety, or those of other residents, in which case the facility shall explore alternatives through discussion with the resident, the Resident Council or interdisciplinary comprehensive care team, and provide or assist in the arrangement of storage for possessions.

You have the right to share a room with your spouse, relative or partner if both are residents of the facility and consent to the arrangement. If your spouse, relative or partner resides in a location other than the facility, you shall be assured privacy for visits by him or her.

You have the right to participate in the established Resident Council.

You have the right to meet with and participate in activities of social, religious and community groups at your discretion.

You have the right to receive, upon request, Kosher food or food products prepared in accordance with the Hebrew Orthodox religious requirements when you, as a matter of religious belief, desire to observe Jewish dietary laws.

You have the right to locked storage in your room upon request.

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