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Residents' Rights

Residents’ Rights are guaranteed by the federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law. The law requires nursing homes to “promote and protect the rights of each resident” and places a strong emphasis on individual dignity and self-determination. Nursing homes must meet federal residents' rights requirements if they participate in Medicare and Medicaid. Some states have residents' rights in state law or regulation for nursing homes, licensed assisted living, adult care homes, and other board and care facilities. A person living in a long-term care facility maintains the same rights as an individual in the larger community.

Select on a below link to learn more about Residents' Rights.

What are Residents' Rights?
Residents' Rights in Other Languages
National Residents' Rights Month
Resources Produced by NORC
Resources Produced by Consumer Voice
Residents' Rights Training
Ombudsman Program Examples
Information to Share with Consumers

What are Residents' Rights?

Residents' Rights Guarantee Quality of Life
The 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law requires each nursing home to care for its residents in a manner that promotes and enhances the quality of life of each resident, ensuring dignity, choice, and self-determination.
All nursing homes are required "to provide services and activities to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident in accordance with a written plan of care that… is initially prepared, with participation, to the extent practicable, of the resident, the resident's family, or legal representative." This means a resident should not decline in health or well-being as a result of the way a nursing facility provides care.

The 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law protects the following rights of nursing home residents:

The Right to Be Fully Informed of

Available services and the charges for each service
Facility rules and regulations, including a written copy of resident rights
Address and telephone number of the State Ombudsman and state survey agency
State survey reports and the nursing home’s plan of correction
Advance plans of a change in rooms or roommates
Assistance if a sensory impairment exists
Residents have a right to receive information in a language they understand (Spanish, Braille, etc.)

Right to Complain

Present grievances to staff or any other person, without fear of reprisal and with prompt efforts by the facility to resolve those grievances
To complain to the ombudsman program
To file a complaint with the state survey and certification agency

Right to Participate in One's Own Care

Receive adequate and appropriate care
Be informed of all changes in medical condition
Participate in their own assessment, care-planning, treatment, and discharge
Refuse medication and treatment
Refuse chemical and physical restraints
Review one's medical record
Be free from charge for services covered by Medicaid or Medicare

Right to Privacy and Confidentiality

Private and unrestricted communication with any person of their choice
During treatment and care of one's personal needs
Regarding medical, personal, or financial affairs

Rights During Transfers and Discharges

Remain in the nursing facility unless a transfer or discharge:
(a) is necessary to meet the resident’s welfare;
(b) is appropriate because the resident’s health has improved and s/he no longer requires nursing home care;
(c) is needed to protect the health and safety of other residents or staff;
(d) is required because the resident has failed, after reasonable notice, to pay the facility charge for an item or service provided at the resident’s request
Receive thirty-day notice of transfer or discharge which includes the reason, effective date, location to which the resident is transferred or discharged, the right to appeal, and the name, address, and telephone number of the state long-term care ombudsman
Safe transfer or discharge through sufficient preparation by the nursing home

Right to Dignity, Respect, and Freedom

To be treated with consideration, respect, and dignity
To be free from mental and physical abuse, corporal punishment, involuntary seclusion, and physical and chemical restraints
To self-determination
Security of possessions

Right to Visits

By a resident’s personal physician and representatives from the state survey agency and ombudsman programs
By relatives, friends, and others of the residents' choosing
By organizations or individuals providing health, social, legal, or other services
Residents have the right to refuse visitors

Right to Make Independent Choices

Make personal decisions, such as what to wear and how to spend free time
Reasonable accommodation of one's needs and preferences
Choose a physician
Participate in community activities, both inside and outside the nursing home
Organize and participate in a Resident Council
Manage one's own financial affairs

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Residents' Rights in Other Languages

If you have a copy of Residents' Rights in a language not listed here and would like to share it with NORC, e-mail it to ombudcenter@theconsumervoice.org. Thank you!

*NEW* Residents' Rights Fact Sheets

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National Residents' Rights Month

October is “Residents’ Rights Month,” an annual event designated by Consumer Voice to honor residents living in all long-term care facilities. It is an opportunity to focus on and celebrate awareness of dignity, respect, and rights of each resident.

Residents’ Rights Month is a time for staff, families, ombudsmen, residents and other advocates to focus on resident-directed care and emphasizing the self-determination, choice, and quality of life of each resident.

2024 - The Power of My Voice
2023 - Amplify Our Voices
2022 - Inspiring Unity within Our Community
2021 - Reclaiming My Rights, My Home, My Life
2020 - Connection Matters
2019 - Stand for Quality
2018 - Speak Up: Know Your Rights and How To Use Them
2017 - It's All About Me: My Life, My Care, My Choices
2016 - My Vote Matters
2015 - CARE Matters
2014 - Better Staffing: The Key to Better Care
2013 - Speak Out Against Elder Abuse!
2012 - My Voice, My Vote, My Right
2011 - Welcome Home: Creating Connections Between Residents and the Community
2010 - Defining Dining...It's About Me
2009 - Hear Our Voice: Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities Speak Out About Residents' Rights
2007 - Advancing Excellence: A Resident's Perspective on Quality
2005 - Together We Can...Achieve Resident-Directed Care

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Resources Produced by NORC

Residents’ Rights and the LGBT Community: Know Your Rights as a Nursing Home Resident (September 2018)
This factsheet highlights federal residents' rights and nursing home requirements that may be of particular importance to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) residents and provides options for complaint resolution, information for reporting abuse and resources regarding long-term care and LGBT advocacy.

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Resources Produced by Consumer Voice

Balancing Privacy & Protection: Surveillance Cameras in Nursing Home Residents' Rooms (September 2017)

Download the webinar PowerPoint slides .

Please click on the resources below to determine if utilizing a surveillance camera is right for you and to view various state laws concerning the use of surveillance cameras.

State Laws:

Guidelines:

Maryland Guidelines for Electronic Monitoring

Put a STOP to Poor Care Webinar
This Consumer Voice webinar was held in collaboration with the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) in order to provide a basic framework to help long-term care residents, their family members, and other advocates identify quality care and potential issues.

The slides for this webinar can be downloaded as a PDF or as a PowerPoint

The “Put a STOP to Poor Care” brochure, produced by the Consumer Voice in collaboration with the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), includes indicators of quality care, warning signs, red flags of potential abuse, and advocacy tips to address concerns. Long-term care ombudsmen (LTCO) could distribute this brochure during their visits, use it as a training tool during in-service training for facility staff, and share it with members of Resident and Family Councils.

The brochure can be downloaded in different formats, brochure 1 and brochure 2.

The Fine Art of Balancing Protection with Self Determination - Webinar (November 2015)

Residents' Rights Training

Guidelines for Resident Rights-Problem Solving Presentation (for up to 20 people) - A Tutorial for Ombudsmen

Guidelines for Large Group (30-150 staff) Resident Rights Presentation - A Tutorial for Ombudsmen

Ombudsman Program Examples

View Ombudsman program examples on residents' rights

Information to Share with Consumers

Residents' Rights: Your Life, Your Care, Your Choices

Prezi - clickable, without voiceover
Prezi script
Consumer Education PowerPoint - Updated May 2022
In-Service PowerPoint

Residents' Rights Fact Sheets

Fact Sheet - Residents’ Rights: An Overview

Piecing Together Quality Long-Term Care - A Consumer's Guide to Choices and Advocacy

Residents’ Rights and the LGBT Community

My Personal Directions for Quality Living Forms
This form can be used by consumers to record their personal preferences and information about themselves in case they need long-term care services in their home or in a long-term care community in the future. The information in this form may provide some help in understanding residents and help when providing their care.

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Residents' Rights

What are Residents' Rights?

Residents' Rights in Other Languages

National Residents' Rights Month

Resources Produced by NORC

Resources Produced by Consumer Voice

Residents' Rights Training

Ombudsman Program Examples

Information to Share with Consumers

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