Ohio Nursing Home Patient Bill of Rights

Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3721.13, nursing home patients have the right to:

1. A safe and clean living environment;
2. Be free from physical, verbal, mental, and emotional abuse, as well as the right to be treated at all times with courtesy, respect, and full recognition of dignity and individuality;
3. Adequate and appropriate medical treatment and nursing care, without regard to considerations such as race, color, religion, national origin, age, or source of payment for care;
4. Have all reasonable requests and inquiries responded to promptly;
5. Have all bed sheets and clothes changed as the need arises, to ensure resident's comfort and sanitation;
6. Obtain the name and any specialty of any physician or other person responsible for the resident's care or the coordination of care;
7. Be assigned the staff physician of the resident's choice, as well as the right to select as an attending physician a physician who is not on the staff of the home;
8. Actively participate in decisions that affect the resident's life, including communicating with physicians and staff; obtaining information concerning medical condition, prognosis, and treatment plan in understandable terms; full access to the resident's medical record, and; the right to give or withhold informed consent for treatment;
9. Withhold payment for physician visitation if the physician did not visit the patient;
10. Confidential treatment of personal and medical records, as well as the right to approve or refuse disclosure of such information;
11. Privacy during examinations and treatment, as well as in the care of personal or bodily needs;
12. Refuse to serve as a medical research subject;
13. Be free of chemical and physical restraints;
14. A pharmacist of the patient's choosing and the right to medications and services at reasonable prices;
15. Exercise all civil rights;
16. At the patient's expense, the right to educational, vocational, recreational, social, and habilitation programs;
17. Consume reasonable amounts of alcoholic beverages and use tobacco at patient's expense;
18. Retire and rise on own schedule, pursuant to patient's request;
19. Observe religious obligations and activities, maintain individual and cultural identity, and participate in social and community groups;
20. Private and restricted communication with family members, social workers, public officials and the patient's attorney, including:
21. Receive, send, and mail sealed, unopened correspondence;
22. Reasonable access to telephones for private communication;
23. Private visits at reasonable hours;
24. Visitation from and to share a room with one's spouse;
25. Have closed doors and to not be opened without first knocking;
26. Retain and use personal items, including clothing and reasonable amounts of possessions;
27. Be fully informed of the basic rates charged by the home, as well as any additional fees or costs related to such services;
28. Receive and review a monthly itemized bill;
29. Refuse transfer or discharge from the home unless transfer is necessary;
30. Receive reasonable notice of a room or roommate change, including full explanation for the change;
31. Voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services.