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SUMMARY 
OF THE 
RIGHTS OF 
RESIDENTS 
OF 
DELAWARE 
NURSING 
HOMES AND 
RELATED 
FACILITIES
 
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+ The right to receive considerate, 
respectful, and appropriate care, 
treatment and 
services. 


+ The right to receive, prior to or at 
the time of admission, a written 
statement of the services provided. 


+ The right to receive a written itemized 
statement of charges and services. 


+ The right to receive from the attending 
physician complete and current 
information concerning the 
resident's diagnosis, treatment and 
prognosis. 


+ At the bedside of each resident, the 
facility shall place the name, address 
and 
telephone number of the physician 
responsible for the patient's care. 


+ The right to respect and privacy.
 
+ The right to be free from restraints. 
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+ The right to receive from the 
administrator and staff a timely, courteous 
and reasonable response to 
requests or grievances, in writing if 
requested. 


+ The right to receive, in writing, 
information as to any relationship 
the facility has with other healthcare 
or related institutions or service 
providers. 


+ The right to reasonable continuity of 
care. 


+ The right to associate or communicate 
with others without restriction. 


+ The right to manage his or her own 
financial affairs. 


+ The right to privacy in visits by his or 
her spouse. 


+ The right to privacy in his or her 
room. 


+ The right to present grievances or recommend changes to the facility 
staff, the Long Term Care 
Ombudsman or others. 

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+ The right not to have to perform 
service for the facility. 


+ The right to retain and use his or 
her own clothing and personal 
possessions. 


+ The right to not be transferred or 
discharged out of a facility except 
for medical reasons, the resident's 
own welfare or the welfare of other 
residents; or for non-payment of 
justified charges, and to be given 
30 days advance notice, except 
where the situation is deemed an 
emergency. 


+ The right to inspect all records 
pertaining to him or her. 


+ The right to be fully informed of 
all rights and responsibilities. 


+ The right to chose a personal 
attending physician. 


+ The right to examine the most 
recent survey of the facility. 

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+ The right to receive information 
from agencies acting as client 
advocates and be afforded the 
opportunity to contact those 
agencies. 


+ The right to be free from verbal, 
physical or mental abuse, cruel and 
unusual punishment, involuntary 
seclusion, withholding of monetary 
allowance, withholding of food, and 
deprivation of sleep. 


+ The right to make choices regarding 
activities, schedules, health care 
and other aspects of his or her life. 


+ The right to participate in an 
ongoing program of activities. 


+ The right to participate m social, 
religious and community activities, 


+ The right to receive notice before 
the resident's room or roommate is 
changed, except in emergencies, 
and to have the facility honor 
requests for room or roommate 
whenever possible. 


+ The right to exercise his or her 
rights as a citizen of the State and 
the USA. 

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+ The right to request information 
regarding minimum acceptable staffing 
levels as it relates to his or her 
care. 


+ The right to request the names and 
positions of staff members providing 
care to the resident. 


+ The right to request an organizational 
chart outlining the facility's chain of 
command for purposes of making 
requests and asserting grievances. 


+ Where a resident is adjudicated 
incompetent or determined to be 
incompetent by his or her attending 
physician, or is unable to communicate, 
his or her rights shall devolve to 
his or her next of kin, guardian or 
representative. 


To receive an unabridged version of 
these Rights as they appear in the: 
Delaware Code, or to register a 
complaint, contact the 
Long Term Care Ombudsman  
at l-800-223-9074. 
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