Patient & Visitors Rights and Responsibilities

Effectiveness and safety of care, treatment and services are the same, regardless of age, race, color, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, creed, national origin, ancestry, arrest or conviction record, marital status, or source of payment for care.

• You have the right to expect that your physician and family will be notified of your admission to the hospital.
• You have the right to access transportation services as appropriate to your plan of care.
• You have the right to have a family member, friend or other individual to be present with you for emotional support during the course of stay, unless the individual's presence infringes on others' rights or safety, or is medically or therapeutically contraindicated. The individual may or may not be the patient's surrogate decision-maker or legally authorized representative.
• You have the right to select your medical, dental and other licensed independent practitioner care providers. There is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy (MD/DO) present 24 hours per day, seven days per week, on an on-call basis within the facility.

Each patient has the right to considerate, respectful and responsive care at all times and under all circumstances, and the right to an environment that preserves dignity and contributes to a positive self-image. Patients are allowed to exercise cultural and/or spiritual preferences and lifelong patterns of living that do not interfere with the well-being of others or the planned course of medical treatment for the patient.

The organization emphasizes the dying patient's right to die with dignity and comfort when there is nothing else that can be done to cure terminal illness. Dying patients and their families have the right to receive physical, psychosocial, spiritual and cultural value support when requested. Both have the right to express their concerns/grief. We will address decisions about care, treatment and services received at the end of life.

The healthcare professionals of the hospital organization respect the voice of the patient or their designated representative decision-maker when ethical issues arise during the patient's care. Through the Ethics Committee, the patient or designated representative decision-maker will be included in discussions of ethical issues and conflicts about patient care.

You have the right, as prescribed by law, to personal and informational privacy as manifested by the following:

• To refuse to talk to or see anyone not officially connected with the hospital, including visitors or persons officially connected with but not directly involved in your care.
• To wear appropriate personal clothing and religious or other culturally symbolic items, as long as they do not interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatments.
• To be examined and conferred with in surroundings that assure reasonable visual and auditory privacy. This includes the right to have a person of one's own sex present during certain parts of a physical examination, treatment or procedure performed by a health professional of the opposite sex. Provisions will be made to eliminate exposure any longer than is required for the examination or procedures.
• To expect that any discussion or consultation involving your case will be conducted privately, and that individuals not directly involved in your care will not be present without your permission.
• To have access to your medical record within a reasonable time frame and to have your medical record viewed only by individuals directly involved in your treatment or in the monitoring of its quality. Other individuals may view your medical record only upon your written authorization or that of your legally authorized representative.
• To expect that all communications and other records pertaining to your care, including the source of payment for treatment, be treated as confidential.
• To request a transfer to another room if another patient or a visitor in the room is unreasonably disturbing you.
• To request protective measures when considered necessary for personal safety and security.
• To respect the needs for confidentiality, privacy and security.

Read the Notice of Privacy.

You have the right to expect reasonable safety with respect to hospital practices and environment. You will receive care in a safe setting and have the right to be free from all forms of abuse or harassment. Grant Regional Health Center facilities are smoke- and tobacco-free.

The hospital provides a locked place for valuables; you are encouraged not to keep valuables in your room.

You have the right to know the identity and professional status of individuals providing service to you and to know which physician or other practitioner is primarily responsible for your care. This includes your right to know of the existence of any professional relationship among the people who are treating you, as well as the relationship to any other healthcare or educational institutions involved in your care. Participation by you in clinical training programs or in the gathering of data for research purposes is voluntary.

You have the right to freedom from the imposition of mental, physical, sexual and verbal abuse, neglect and exploitation. You have the right to be free from restraints that are not medically necessary or are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff. When not required to treat your medical symptoms you shall be free from chemical/physical/mental restraints except as necessary by your condition and physician authorization.

You have the right to give or withhold informed consent. You also have the right to give or withhold informed consent to produce or use recordings, films or other images of yourself for purposes other than your care. You or your representative has the right to participate in the development and implementation of your care plan and decisions about your care, treatment and services. Information should be provided in a manner tailored to a patient's age, language and ability to understand. Your physician will provide complete and current information in a language you can understand concerning your diagnosis (to the degree known), treatment and any known prognosis, as well as alternative treatments or procedures and the potential benefits, drawbacks or risks of each. The family or guardian for infants, children and adolescent patients has the right to be involved in the assessment, initial treatment and continuing care of the patient. Information should be relayed to the pediatric patient in terms that are easily understood. When not medically advisable to give such information to you, it should be made available to a legally authorized individual. Patients and, when appropriate, their families will participate in decisions and be informed about the outcomes of care, treatment and services that have been provided, including unanticipated outcomes.

You have the right to expect that you will be informed of your rights in advance of furnishing or discontinuing care when possible.

You have the right to and need for effective communication.

You have the right to have your personal physician and significant other notified regarding your admission to the hospital. You can access people outside of the hospital through visitors and by letters and phone calls. You have the right to unlimited contact with visitors and others. Visitation rights include the right to receive the visitors designated by the patient, including, but not limited to, a spouse, a domestic partner (including a same-sex domestic partner), another family member or a friend. Also included is the right to withdraw or deny such consent at any time. You have the right to receive or refuse visitors of your choice, unless there are clinical or legal reasons for visitor restrictions. In the event of clinical or legal restrictions, an explanation will be provided to the patient or representative.

The hospital effectively communicates with patients when providing care, treatment and services. The hospital identifies the patient's oral and written communication needs, including the patient's preferred language for discussing healthcare. The hospital communicates with the patient during the provision of care, treatment and services in a manner that meets the patient's oral and written communication needs. When you do not speak or understand the predominant language of the community, are hearing-impaired, or any other communication barrier is present, you will have access to an interpreter. This is particularly true when language barriers become a continuing problem. A TDD device for the hearing-impaired is available per request, as well as other personal devices.

Pastoral care or spiritual services will be contacted at your request. You have the right to participate as a citizen in civic affairs. This includes the right to vote by absentee ballot in all elections.

You have the right to request protective measures and advocacy services when considered necessary for your personal safety and security. Upon your request, the Nursing or Social Services Departments will provide you with a list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of pertinent state client advocacy groups, such as the Licensure Office, the State Ombudsman Program, the Protection and Advocacy network, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

The patient and his or her family have the right to have complaints and grievances reviewed by the hospital. The patient can voice complaints or grievances and recommend changes freely without being subject to coercion; discrimination; reprisal; or unreasonable interruption of care, treatment and services.

The director of Quality Improvement analyzes reports of concern submitted from patients or families, and appropriate action will be taken. Each person submitting a report of concern will receive a response if they provide their name and contact information on the report of concern. Your report of concern may be done anonymously. However, we hope you will feel comfortable with providing us with your name and contact information so the Quality Improvement Department staff can contact you to discuss the concern. Information you provide us is valuable to being able to improve our systems and provide better care in the future. You may express your concern by any of the methods listed below.

1. Complete a "Concerns and Suggestions" form or write a letter and mail to: Quality Improvement Department, 507 S. Monroe St., Lancaster, WI 53813.
2. Email your concern to quality@grantregional.com.
3. Complete the "Concerns and Suggestions" form, and deposit the form in a box at the hospital exits.
4. Complete the "Patient Survey" form, and drop it in a box at the hospital exits.
5. If you prefer to talk to someone about your concern instead of doing a written report, please call 608.723.2143 and request to talk to a Quality Improvement staff person.

You are asked to report your concerns first to Grant Regional Health Center (GRHC) using one of the methods listed above. You should stay in contact with the Quality Improvement Department at GRHC (608.723.1393) or quality@grantregional.com to find out what action is being taken concerning your report of concern. If the Quality Improvement Department does not respond to your concern in a way that is satisfactory to you, you have the right to call 608.723.2143 and ask to talk to a member of the hospital's administrative staff. If GRHC does not satisfactorily respond to your concern, you then have the right to report your concern to one of the organizations listed below.

Division of Quality Assurance

The Division of Quality Assurance is responsible for monitoring the quality of healthcare services in Wisconsin through rule development, interpretation and enforcement. It is the primary enforcement area of the Department of Health and Family Services with regard to certification standards and complaint investigations.

1 W. Wilson St., Box 2969, Room 1150
Madison, WI 53703
608.266.8481 | dhs.wisconsin.gov/bqaconsumer/HealthCareComplaints.htm

Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit

The Wisconsin Department of Justice investigates allegations of Medicaid fraud and abuse through its Medicaid Fraud Control section.

Call the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at 800.488.3780.

Disability Rights Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy is the designated protection and advocacy agency for persons with disabilities. This agency provides statewide help and advocacy for a variety of disability-related issues as well as resident rights issues.

131 W. Wilson St., Suite 700
Madison, WI 53703
608.267.0214 | disabilityrightswi.org

Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups

The Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups is a nonpartisan federation of local, regional and statewide groups who advocate representing the social, economic, geographical, political and philosophical diversity of older persons in Wisconsin.

Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups
2850 Dairy Drive, Suite 100
Madison, WI 53718
608.224.0606 | cwag.org

The Joint Commission

The Joint Commission is a private agency in Chicago that which completes accreditation of healthcare facilities.

Office of Quality Monitoring
The Joint Commission
1 Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
800.994.6610 | complaint@jointcommission.org

Board on Aging and Long-Term Care

The ombudsman investigates and resolves problems and provides information, referral and consultation with enforcement agencies to improve quality of care in long-term facilities and programs.

1402 Pankratz St., Suite 111
Madison, WI 53704-4001
800.815.0015 | boaltc@ltc.state.wi.us

You and, when appropriate, your family have the right to reasonable, informed participation in decisions involving the outcomes of care, treatment and services. To the degree possible, this should be based on a clear, concise explanation of your condition and of all proposed technical procedures, including unanticipated outcomes. You should not be subjected to any procedure without your voluntary consent or the consent of your representative decision-maker. Where alternatives for care or treatment exist, you shall be informed.

You have the right to give or withhold informed consent. The hospital honors your right to give or withhold informed consent to produce or use recordings, films or other images of the patient for purposes other than his/her care.

You have the right to participate in the consideration of ethical issues that arise in your care. Should you wish to voice an ethical concern, an employee will provide you with information on how to access the Ethics Committee.

You have the right to know who is responsible for authorizing and performing the procedures or treatment.

You shall be informed if the hospital proposes to perform research or educational projects affecting your care or treatment; you have the right to refuse to participate in any such activity. You should be given a description of potential discomforts or risks and a description of alternative services that might prove advantageous. A full explanation of procedures will be given.

You, at your own request and expense, have the right to consult with another physician or specialist.

You or your legal representative have the right to refuse care, treatment and services, or to leave the hospital against the doctor's advice, in accordance with law and regulation. We affirm the right to be informed of the consequences of such action. If a patient leaves the hospital against a doctor's advice, they will be asked to sign an "Against Medical Advice" form, and the hospital and doctor will not be responsible for any difficulty this action may cause.

You may not be transferred to another hospital or organization, with the exception of medical emergencies, unless you have received a complete explanation. You have the right to be informed by the physician responsible for your care of any continuing healthcare requirements following your discharge. Before the hospital discharges or transfers a patient, it informs and educates the patient, and also the family when it is involved in decision-making or ongoing care of the kinds of continuing care, treatment and services the patient will need.

Regardless of the source of payment for your care, you have the right to request and receive an itemized and detailed explanation of your total bill for services. You have the right to timely notice of any termination of payments for the cost of your care by your insurer or other third-party payer.

You should be informed of the hospital rules and regulations regarding your conduct as a patient. You are entitled to information about Grant Regional Health Center's system to hear and resolve patient complaints.

If the patient has been adjudicated incompetent in accordance with the law, or found by his/her physician to be medically incapable of understanding the proposed treatment or procedure, or is unable to communicate his/her wishes regarding treatment,or is an unemancipated minor, the guardian, next of kin or legally authorized responsible person has the right to exercise to the extent permitted by law the rights delineated on behalf of the patient.

You have the right to formulate advance directives and to appoint a surrogate to make healthcare decisions on your behalf to the extent permitted by law. You are not required to have an advance directive nor will you be discriminated against for not having one.

You have the right to consult with a pharmacist about medication you are taking. If you desire a consultation, please make your request known to the pharmacy aide, the nursing staff or social services, who will pass on such request to the pharmacist. Emergency room patients will be offered the telephone number of the pharmacist on call.

You have the right to appropriate assessment and management of pain.