The Patients' Bill of Rights

Residents' Rights

Under newly expanded Pennsylvania law, residents of an assisted living facility have the following rights among others:

• the right to a plan of care
• the right to privacy, including the right to have access in reasonable privacy to a telephone and the right to have uncensored access to the mail
• the right to receive visitors and access to a telephone
• the right to leave and return to the home
• the right to participate in, or refrain from, religious activities
• the right to exercise the rights of a citizen and to voice grievances
• the right to be provided with 30 days advance written notice of the facility’s intent to terminate a resident’s stay and the reason for termination according to specifically enumerated guidelines and procedures
• the right to be free of chemical and physical restraints.

As with nursing homes, the Montgomery County Aging and Adult Services Ombudsperson program applies to residents of assisted living facilities.

New regulations have been enacted pertaining to dementia units, and the training of staff. New regulations have been enacted to begin the process of licensing personal care homes and assisted living facilities.