81R11443 CS-D
By: Chavez H.B. No. 2402
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the right of a resident in a nursing home or related
institution to bring an action in court.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 242.501(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department by rule shall adopt a statement of the
rights of a resident. The statement must be consistent with Chapter
102, Human Resources Code, but shall reflect the unique
circumstances of a resident at an institution. At a minimum, the
statement of the rights of a resident must address the resident's
constitutional, civil, and legal rights and the resident's right:
(1) to be free from abuse and exploitation;
(2) to safe, decent, and clean conditions;
(3) to be treated with courtesy, consideration, and
respect;
(4) to not be subjected to discrimination based on
age, race, religion, sex, nationality, or disability and to
practice the resident's own religious beliefs;
(5) to place in the resident's room an electronic
monitoring device that is owned and operated by the resident or
provided by the resident's guardian or legal representative;
(6) to privacy, including privacy during visits and
telephone calls;
(7) to complain about the institution and to organize
or participate in any program that presents residents' concerns to
the administrator of the institution;
(8) to retain an attorney and bring a suit in a court;
(9) to have information about the resident in the
possession of the institution maintained as confidential;
(10) [(9)] to retain the services of a physician the
resident chooses, at the resident's own expense or through a health
care plan, and to have a physician explain to the resident, in
language that the resident understands, the resident's complete
medical condition, the recommended treatment, and the expected
results of the treatment, including reasonably expected effects,
side effects, and risks associated with psychoactive medications;
(11) [(10)] to participate in developing a plan of
care, to refuse treatment, and to refuse to participate in
experimental research;
(12) [(11)] to a written statement or admission
agreement describing the services provided by the institution and
the related charges;
(13) [(12)] to manage the resident's own finances or
to delegate that responsibility to another person;
(14) [(13)] to access money and property that the
resident has deposited with the institution and to an accounting of
the resident's money and property that are deposited with the
institution and of all financial transactions made with or on
behalf of the resident;
(15) [(14)] to keep and use personal property, secure
from theft or loss;
(16) [(15)] to not be relocated within the
institution, except in accordance with standards adopted by the
department under Section 242.403;
(17) [(16)] to receive visitors;
(18) [(17)] to receive unopened mail and to receive
assistance in reading or writing correspondence;
(19) [(18)] to participate in activities inside and
outside the institution;
(20) [(19)] to wear the resident's own clothes;
(21) [(20)] to discharge himself or herself from the
institution unless the resident is an adjudicated mental
incompetent;
(22) [(21)] to not be discharged from the institution
except as provided in the standards adopted by the department under
Section 242.403;
(23) [(22)] to be free from any physical or chemical
restraints imposed for the purposes of discipline or convenience,
and not required to treat the resident's medical symptoms; and
(24) [(23)] to receive information about prescribed
psychoactive medication from the person prescribing the medication
or that person's designee, to have any psychoactive medications
prescribed and administered in a responsible manner, as mandated by
Section 242.505, and to refuse to consent to the prescription of
psychoactive medications.
SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2010, the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall by
rule adopt a revised statement of the rights of a resident as
required by Section 242.501, Health and Safety Code, as amended by
this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.