1. GENERAL RIGHTS

Each resident of a Long Term Care Facility or Service has the right:

1.1 To be treated with courtesy and respect in a way that fully recognizes the resident's dignity and individuality.

1.2 To be free from mental, physical, emotional, verbal and sexual abuse.

1.3 To live in a safe, clean and healthy environment.

1.4 To be sheltered, fed, clothed, groomed, and cared for in a manner consistent with his or her needs and wishes.

1.5 To keep and display in his or her room personal possessions, pictures and furnishings in keeping with safety requirements and other residents' rights.

1.6 To be given access to appropriate areas outside the facility in order to enjoy outdoor activities.

1.7 To form friendships and to enjoy relationships.

1.8 To pursue social, cultural, religious, leisure, and other interests to promote personal growth and physical well-being and to be supported by the facility in these pursuits.

1.9 To receive rehabilitation and assistance towards independence consistent with personally identified requirements.

1.10 To be informed as to who is responsible for, and who is providing, his or her direct care. This includes the right, wherever possible, to select the person(s) who will be providing direct care.

1.11 To be afforded privacy in treatment and in caring for personal needs.

1.12 To be informed of his or her medical condition and to exercise informed consent regarding treatment and proposed courses of treatment.

1.13 To have access to his or her medical and personal records and to have them kept confidential in accordance with the law.

1.14 To be informed of, and to participate in, the development of any short or long term plans to be implemented after completion of medical treatment.

1.15 To designate a person who will receive, in a timely manner, information concerning any transfer or emergency hospitalization of the resident.

1.16 To have members of the resident's family or a confidant present twenty-four hours per day if death is likely to be imminent or if the resident can benefit from compassionate care and companionship.

1.17 To leave the Long Term Care Facility for reasonable periods in order to spend time with family or friends without jeopardizing his or her individual placement.

1.18 To vote in all municipal, provincial and federal elections and to have arrangements made to accommodate this right.

1.19 To be free from unwanted proselytization.

1.20 To be provided appropriate professional interpretive services in a mode and language of the resident's choice.

1.21 To be given priority in the allocation of residential space when a resident seeks to be re-united or united with a partner who is living in another facility.

2. SPECIFIC RIGHTS

Right of Choice

2.1 Individuals must have full opportunity and appropriate advice in making informed decisions about where they live.

2.2 Priority must be given to the right to choose one's Long Term Care Facility.

2.3 Assignment to, or reassignment within, a particular Long Term Care Facility must consider the informed decision of the resident or his or her designated legal guardian and the general well-being of other residents.

Informed Consent and Medical Decisions

2.4 The right to informed consent requires that care givers are obliged to inform each resident or their designated legal guardian about:

a. Alternative treatment programs and additional health care facilities related to the resident's care.

b. Treatment, including medication, and the consequences of giving or refusing consent.

c. Physical and pharmacological restraints being considered, their implementation and the consequences of receiving or refusing them.

d. The right to participate fully in every decision concerning the resident's care, including those concerning his or her admission, discharge or transfer to or from a facility.

e. The right to an independent medical opinion.

f. The right to request the support of family, friends or advocates to ensure full participation in all decisions affecting his or her well-being.

Residents' Councils

2.5 The right to participate as a responsible member of his or her community requires that Long Term Care Facilities provide residents' councils with adequate financial and logistical resources so as to be effective in representing the concerns and opinions of all residents.

Each resident has the right:

2.6 To participate in a residents' council as constituted by the residents themselves.

2.7 To exercise the rights of a citizen, including the right to raise concerns, to seek outside advice and support, and to recommend changes in policies and services on behalf of himself or herself or others to the residents' council without fear of restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination or reprisal.

Advocates' Councils

2.8 Persons in Long Term Care Facilities are part of the community and there must, therefore, be an effective and appropriate means of participation by family members and friends of the residents. This requires that Long Term Care Facilities provide adequate logistical resources and support for the establishment of Advocates' Councils composed of family members and friends.

Board Representation

2.9 A Long Term Care Facility is the home of the residents. It is therefore important that:

a. There be elected representation from the Residents' Council on the Board of Directors.

b. There be elected representation from the Advocates' Council on the Board of Directors.

Resolution of Conflicts and Complaints

2.10 The right to full equality in the determination of complaints and the achievement of effective remedies to those complaints requires that the administrations of Long Term Care Facilities establish:

a. Procedures for initiating complaints by the residents.

b. Procedures for review by a mutually agreed upon party and the means to resolve disputes and complaints in an expedient manner.

c. Procedures which are well publicized and clearly posted throughout the residence.

d. Procedures which are in clear language.

e. Regular and appropriate efforts to ensure that all residents are familiar with the procedures.

Each resident or, where appropriate, that person's legal guardian has the right:

2.11 To exercise the rights of a citizen and to raise concerns or recommend changes in policies and services on behalf of himself or herself to facility staff, government officials or any other person inside or outside the facility, without fear of restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination or reprisal.

2.12 To be informed, and to receive in writing, notice of any law, rule or policy affecting the operations of the facility and of the procedures for initiating complaints.

2.13 To bring complaints and to receive protection against retaliation.

2.14 To receive a timely and written reply to a complaint.

2.15 To be represented by someone of the resident's choice in those cases where the resident is unable or unwilling to represent him or herself.

Relationships

2.16 Each resident who participates in a mutually consenting relationship has the right to meet privately with his or her partner in a room that assures privacy. Where both partners are residents in the same facility, they have a right to share a room.

Legal Rights

Each resident, or his or her legal guardian, has the right:

2.17 To manage his or her own financial affairs, or where the resident's financial affairs are managed by the facility, to receive a quarterly or monthly accounting, as determined by the resident, of any transactions undertaken on his or her behalf.

2.18 To associate and have private communications with his or her attorney or with any other person of his or her choice and to send and receive personal mail, unopened, on the same day it is sent or received.

2.19 To communicate in confidence, to receive visitors of his or her choice and to consult in private with any person without interference.

Privacy

2.20 The right to privacy is a fundamental right which enhances a person's humanity and well-being.

Each resident has the right to:

2.21 Privacy for certain activities such as meetings, bodily functions (including bathing where assistance is required), and personal visits.

2.22 A private room where feasible. This includes the intent of privacy where a private room is not available, but priority will be given to providing such facilities at the earliest opportunity.

2.23 A peaceful environment free from excessive public announcements and any unwelcome intrusions.

• Marianhill Programs
• Resident Application
• Resident Handbook
• Residents Bill Of Rights
• Resident Council
• Family Council
• Financial Matters
• Safety