26:2H-154 Rights of dementia care home residents.

23. a. Every resident of a dementia care home facility shall have the right:

(1) To manage the resident's own financial affairs;

(2) To wear the resident's own clothing;

(3) To determine the resident's own dress, hair style, or other personal effects according to individual preference;

(4) To retain and use the resident's personal property in the resident's immediate living quarters, so as to maintain individuality and personal dignity, except where the facility can demonstrate that it would be unsafe, impractical to do so, or infringe upon the rights of others, and that mere convenience is not the facility's motive to restrict this right;

(5) To receive and send unopened correspondence;

(6) To unaccompanied access to a telephone at a reasonable hour and to a private phone at the resident's expense;

(7) To privacy;

(8) To retain the services of the resident's own personal physician at the resident's own expense or under a health care plan and to confidentiality and privacy concerning the resident's medical condition and treatment;

(9) To unrestricted communication, including personal visitation with any person of the resident's choice, at any reasonable hour;

(10) To make contacts with the community and to achieve the highest level of independence, autonomy, and interaction with the community of which the resident is capable;

(11) To present grievances on behalf of the resident or others to the operator, State governmental agencies, or other persons without threat of reprisal in any form or manner;

(12) To a safe and decent living environment and considerate and respectful care that recognizes the dignity and individuality of the resident;

(13) To refuse to perform services for the facility, except as contracted for by the resident and the operator;

(14) To practice the religion of the resident's choice, or to abstain from religious practice; and

(15) To not be deprived of any constitutional, civil, or legal right solely by reason of residence in a dementia care home.

b. The operator of a dementia care home shall ensure that a written notice of the rights set forth in subsection a. of this section is given to every resident upon admittance to the facility and to each resident upon request. The operator shall also post this notice in a conspicuous public place in the facility. This notice shall include the name, address, and telephone numbers of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly, county welfare agency, and county office on aging.

c. A person or resident whose rights as set forth in subsection a. of this section are violated shall have a cause of action against any person committing the violation. The action may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce those rights and to recover actual and punitive damages for their violation. A plaintiff who prevails in the action shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs of the action.

L.2015, c.125, s.23.