By: Robert J. Shanahan, Jr., Esq.
Nursing home residents’ rights–they do have them. People do not lose their rights merely because their place of residence has changed to a nursing home. New Jersey law sets a list of rights for nursing home residents. The nursing home administrator will provide residents with written notice of those rights upon admission and must post them in the facility.
NJSA 30:13-5 List Specific Rights
New Jersey statute lists the following nursing home residents’ rights:
-To manage their own financial affairs unless they appoint someone else to do so;
-To wear their own clothing;
-To keep and use their personal property in their immediate living quarters, unless it is unsafe or impractical to do so;
-To receive and send unopened correspondence and to get assistance reading and writing that correspondence;
-To unaccompanied access to a telephone at a reasonable hour, including the right to a private phone at the resident’s expense;
-To privacy;
-To retain the services of their own personal doctor at their own expense or under a healthcare plan;
-To obtain complete and current information about their medical diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis in terms they can reasonably be expected to understand;
-To unrestricted communication, including personal visitation with any individuals of their choice, at a reasonable hour;
-To present grievances without the threat of discharge or reprisal;
-Legal representation by an elder care attorney;
-To a safe and decent living environment and considerate and respectful care that recognizes their dignity and individuality;
-To refuse to perform services for the nursing home that are not included for therapeutic purposes in their plan of care;
-To have reasonable opportunity for interactions with members of the opposite sex;
-Not to be deprived of any constitutional, civil, or legal right solely by reason of admission to a nursing home;
-To receive food that meets their religious dietary requirements.
See an attorney with any questions or issues before a crisis develops.
Robert J. Shanahan, Jr. Esq focuses his practice in estate planning, elder law and probate matters. Mr. Shanahan additionally practices in business law and non-profit matters. He is a trained, experienced mediator and offers dispute resolution services, particularly for those arising from probate and elder law matters. Additionally, Mr. Shanahan’s firm, Law Offices of Robert J. Shanahan, Jr., LLC, offers a breadth of additional services to families and businesses throughout central New Jersey.
Mr. Shanahan received his Juris Doctor from the Temple University School of Law in 1985, and obtained licensure in New Jersey in the same year. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1981 from William Paterson University, with honors. Robert is a member and Past President of the Hunterdon County Bar Association, and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and its Elder Law and Disability Section. He is also active in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, serving as a Trustee to NJ NAELA. Robert is a member of the Hunterdon Medical Center’s Bio Ethics Committee, and he was awarded a Five Star Financial Services Professional Award for 2016 and 2017.
You may contact Bob at (908)751-1551, or [email protected]. For more information, visit www.legalcounselnj.com
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS MERELY AN EDUCATIONAL SERVICE TO PROVIDE BASIC, GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE OF ANY SORT. FURTHER, BY EXPLORING THIS INFORMATION, YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP IS BEING FORMED.