As a home health patient, you have the right to be informed of your rights in a language and manner that you understand. At the same time, we have the responsibility and commitment to present you and your legal representative (if any) the rights set forth below in advance of us furnishing care.

Exercising your rights. It is the Agency’s responsibility to protect and promote the exercise of the rights presented in this document. A patient’s rights may be exercised by him or herself, or in the following ways:

• If the patient has been determined to lack legal capacity to make health care decisions as established by state law by the court, the rights of the patient may be exercised by the person appointed by the state court to act on the patient’s behalf. If this is the case, that patient may exercise his or her rights to the extent allowed by the court order.
• If a state court has not determined a patient to lack legal capacity to make health care decisions, the patient’s representative may exercise the patient’s rights.

The right to respect. You have the right to:

• Have your property and person treated with respect.
• Be free from verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse, including injuries of unknown source¹, neglect and misappropriation of property.

The rights regarding your treatment. You have the right to :

• Competent, individualized health care without regard to race, color, creed, sex, age, national origin, handicap, ethical/political beliefs, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation or whether or not an advance directive has been executed.
• Participate in, be informed about, consent to, or refuse care prior to and during treatment (where appropriate) with respect to:
  • completion of all assessments;
  • the care to be furnished, based on the comprehensive assessment;
  • establishing and revising the plan of care;
  • the disciplines that will furnish the care;
  • the frequency of visits;
  • expected outcomes of care, including patient-identified goals, and anticipated risks and benefits;
  • any factors that could impact treatment effectiveness; and
  • any changes in the care to be furnished.
• Receive all services outlined in the plan of care
• Have a confidential clinical record, with access to or release of patient information and records only being permitted consistent with federal and state law.
• Be informed of the Agency’s policies for transfer and discharge, which will include transfer or discharge of the patient from the Agency only if:
  • The transfer or discharge is necessary for the patient’s welfare because the Agency and the physician who is responsible for the home health plan of care agree that the Agency can no longer meet the patient’s needs, based on the patient’s acuity. The Agency must then arrange for a safe and appropriate transfer to other care entities when the needs of the patient exceed the Agency’s capabilities;
  • The patient or payer will no longer pay for the services provided by the Agency;
  • The patient refuses services, or elects to be transferred or discharged;
  • The Agency determines, under a policy set by the Agency for the purpose of addressing discharge for cause that meets the requirements set out immediately below, that the patient’s (or other persons in the patient’s home) behavior is disruptive, abusive, or uncooperative to the extent that delivery of care to the patient or the ability of the Agency to operate effectively is seriously impaired. The Agency must do the
  • following before it discharges a patient for cause;
    • Advise the patient, representative (if any), the physician(s) issuing orders for the home health plan of care, and the patient’s primary care practitioner or other health professional who will be responsible for providing care and services to the patient after discharge from the Agency (if any) that a discharge for cause is being considered;
    • Make efforts to resolve the problem(s) presented by the patient’s behavior, the behavior of other persons in the patient’s home, or situation;
    • Provide the patient and representative (if any), with contact information for other agencies or providers who may be able to provide care; and
    • Document the problem(s) and efforts made to resolve the problem(s), and enter this documentation into its clinical records.
  • The patient dies; or
  • The Agency ceases to operate.

Your rights regarding payment for home health services. You have the right to:

• Be advised of:
  • the extent to which payment for home health services may be expected from Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federally-funded or federal aid program known to the agency;
  • the changes for services that may not be covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federally-funded or federal aid program known to the agency;
  • the charges the patient may have to pay before care is initiated; and
  • any changes to payment requirements or arrangements for the care provided, when they occur.
• Receive proper written notice, in advance of a specific service being furnished, if the agency believes that the service may be non-covered care; or in advance of the agency reducing or terminating on-going care.

Your rights to voice complaints and know about your resources. You have the right to:

• Be free from any discrimination or reprisal for exercising rights or for voicing grievances to the agency or an outside entity.
• Be informed of the procedure for submitting a written complaint / grievance to the home health agency. All complaints / grievances are to be referred to the following Agency personnel (if not satisfied with any step in chain of command, continue to the next person):
  • Jackie Zinkgraf – Administrator
  • Shannon Winegarner – Director of Clinical Services
• Have the Agency investigate complaints. If you make a complaint, the Agency will:
  • Investigate the complaint made by the patient, the patient’s representative (if any), and the patient’s caregivers and family, including, but not limited to, the following topics:
    • Treatment or care that is (or fails to be) furnished, is furnished inconsistently, or is furnished inappropriately; and
    • Mistreatment, neglect, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse, including injuries of unknown source, and/or misappropriation of patient property by anyone furnishing services on behalf of the Agency;
    • Document both the existence of the complaint and the resolution of the complaint; and
    • Take action to prevent further potential violations, including retaliation, while the complaint is being investigated.
• Any Agency staff (employed or contracted) in the normal course of providing services to the patient, who identifies, notices, or recognizes incidences or circumstances of mistreatment, neglect, verbal, mental, sexual, and/or physical abuse, including injuries of unknown source, or misappropriation of patient property, must report these findings immediately to the Agency and other appropriate authorities in accordance with state law.
• Be advised of the state toll free home health telephone hot line, its contact information, its hours of operation, and that its purpose is to receive complaints or questions about local home health agencies. That information is as follows:
  • Toll free telephone hot line : 1-800 – 842 – 8826
  • Contact information : 303 – 730 – 3578
  • Hours of operation : 8am – 5pm
• Be advised of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the following federally-funded and state-funded entities that serve the area where you reside:
  • Denver Regional Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging:
    • 303 – 455 – 1000
    • 1290 Broadway, Suite 100Denver, CO 80203-5606
  • Center for Independent Living :
    • 303 – 733 – 9324
    • 201 South Cherokee StreetDenver, CO 80223
  • Protection and Advocacy Agency :
    • 303 – 722 – 0300 | 1-800 – 288-1376
    • 455 Sherman Street, Suite 130Denver, CO 80203
  • Aging and Disability Resource Center :
    • 1-844 – COL-ADRC ( 1-844 – 265-2372 )
  • Quality Improvement Organization :
    • KEPRO
    • 1-844 – 317-0891

The right of accessibility. Information must be provided to patients in plain language and in a manner that is accessible and timely to:

• Persons with disabilities, including accessible websites and the provision of auxiliary aids and services at no cost to the individual in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
• Persons with limited English proficiency through the provision of language services at no cost to the individual, including oral interpretation and written translations.

You have the right to be informed of the right to necessary access auxiliary aids and language services and how to access those services.