Nursing Home Patient Bill of Rights Provided by the South Carolina Omnibus Adult Protection Act
South Carolina long-term care patients and their families must be given a patient bill of rights by their health care facility.
We are proud to give our clients’ cases close attention. Every matter deserves the same level of care and attention despite its size. We are cognizant of the fact that you may be contacting us for help with a difficult and potentially emotional situation. We will be sensitive to this fact and will work with you to determine your best course of action.
The Strom Law Firm LLC understands that the time following a nursing home injury is often difficult for all parties involved. We work closely with victims and families of nursing home abuse or neglect in Columbia, SC and throughout the state to ensure that you get the compensation and relief that you deserve.
The patient bill of rights, which must be provided at admission to every new resident of a nursing facility, is set forth in the South Carolina Omnibus Adult Protection Act and provides that a resident in a health care facility can expect the following:
- Nursing home residents have the right to see family members, ombudspersons or other resident advocates, physicians, service providers, and representatives of the state and federal government.
- Residents may keep and use their personal possessions and clothing unless doing so would endanger health and safety.
- Residents have the right to apply for and receive Medicare and Medicaid benefits and cannot be asked to leave a home because they receive such benefits.
- A nursing home must treat all individuals the same, regardless of whether they are private payers or Medicare or Medicaid recipients.
- Residents have the right to keep their clinical and personal records confidential.
- Residents are entitled to lists of what services are paid by Medicare and Medicaid and the additional services for which the residents will be charged, plus the fees for those services.
- Nursing home residents have the right to choose their own personal physician.
- Residents have the right to be fully informed about their medical care.
- Residents have the right to participate in the planning of their care and treatment.
- Nursing home residents have the right to refuse treatment.
- Residents have the right to be free from mental and physical abuse.
- Nursing home residents cannot be kept apart from other residents against their will.
- Residents cannot be tied down or given drugs to restrain them if restraint is not necessary to treat their medical symptoms.
- Residents have the right to raise grievances and have them resolved quickly.
- Residents may participate in social, religious, and community activities to the extent that they do not interfere with the rights of other residents.
- Residents cannot be required to deposit their personal funds with the nursing home, and if they request that the home manage their funds, the home must do so according to state and federal record-keeping requirements.
- Residents have the right to privacy, including in their rooms, medical treatment, communications, visits, and meetings with family and resident groups.
- Residents have the right to review their medical records within twenty-four hours of making a request.
- Nursing home residents have the right to review the most recent state inspection report relating to the home.
- Residents must be given notice before their room or roommate is changed, and residents can refuse the transfer if the purpose is to move them from a Medicare bed to a Medicaid bed or vice versa.
- Residents have the right to stay in the nursing home and can only be removed if it is necessary for the resident’s welfare, the resident no longer needs the facility’s services, it is necessary to prevent harm to the health or safety of others in the facility, the resident fails to pay after reasonable notice, or the facility ceases to operate.
- Nursing home residents and their representatives have the right to thirty days’ notice of a proposed transfer or discharge, and they have the right to appeal.
- Before transferring residents for hospitalization or therapy, the nursing home must inform them of the length of time that their beds will be held open for their return, called the “bedhold period.”
- Nursing home residents returning from a hospital or therapeutic leave after expiration of the bedhold period have the right to be readmitted as soon as the first semi-private bed becomes available.
- Residents must be informed of their rights upon admission, and must be given their rights in writing if so requested.
If you or a loved one has been injured because of care or lack of care received while a resident of a nursing home, or while admitted to a skilled nursing facility, contact the Nursing Home Attorneys at the Strom Law Firm, LLC today at 803-252-4800 for a free consultation to discuss your best possible course of action. We offer flexible appointment times and will aggressively fight for justice.
