Section 385.1550  Clients' Rights

a)         A client shall not be deprived of any rights, benefits, or privileges guaranteed by law based solely on his/her status as a resident of the facility.

b)         A client shall be permitted to retain and use or wear his/her personal property in his/her immediate living quarters unless deemed medically inappropriate or socially disruptive by a physician and so documented in the client's record.

c)         The facility shall provide a means of safeguarding small items of value for the clients in their rooms or in any other part of the facility, so long as the client has daily access to such valuables.

d)         The facility shall make reasonable efforts to prevent loss and theft of clients' property.  The facility shall develop procedures for investigating complaints concerning theft of clients' property and shall promptly investigate all such complaints.

e)         There shall be no traffic through a client's room to reach any other area of the building.

f)         Children under 16 years of age who are related to employees or volunteers of a facility, and who are not themselves employees/volunteers of the facility, shall be restricted to quarters reserved for family or employee use except during times when such children are part of a group visiting the facility as part of a planned program, or similar activity.

g)         A client may refuse to perform labor for a facility unless specified in the admission contract, and the client's integrated care plan.

h)         A client shall be permitted the free exercise of religion.  Upon a client's request, and if necessary at his/her expense, the facility management shall make arrangements for a client's attendance at religious services of the client's choice.  However, no religious beliefs or practices or attendance at religious services may be imposed upon any client.

i)          The facility shall encourage and not prohibit a client's right to vote in person or by absentee ballot in all elections.

j)          Upon entering the facility, clients shall be provided with a form on which they may list those persons to be notified in the event of their death, or at such time as their death appears imminent.  A client may decline to have any person notified of his/her death.  In all cases, the client's physician shall be notified by the facility.

k)         The facility shall notify the client's representative whenever the client suffers from a sudden illness or accident, or if and when unexplained absences occur, in accordance with the terms of the contract.

l)          A client may not be transferred, discharged, evicted, harassed, dismissed, or retaliated against for filing a complaint or providing information concerning a complaint against the facility.