Written policies regarding the rights of residents shall be established and shall be made available to the resident, to any guardian, next of kin, sponsoring agency or representative payee, and to the public. Those policies and procedures shall ensure that each resident admitted to the facility has the following rights and is notified of the following facility obligations, in addition to those specified by regulation:

(a) The facility shall employ an adequate number of qualified personnel to carry out all of the functions of the facility.

(b) Each resident shall show evidence of good personal hygiene and be given care to prevent bedsores, and measures shall be used to prevent and reduce incontinence for each resident.

(c) The facility shall provide food of the quality and quantity to meet the residents’ needs in accordance with physicians’ orders.

(d) The facility shall provide an activity program staffed and equipped to meet the needs and interests of each resident and to encourage self-care and resumption of normal activities. Residents shall be encouraged to participate in activities suited to their individual needs.

(e) The facility shall be clean, sanitary, and in good repair at all times.

(f) A nurses’ call system shall be maintained in operating order in all nursing units and provide visible and audible signal communication between nursing personnel and residents. Extension cords to each resident’s bed shall be readily accessible to residents at all times.

(g) (1) If a facility has a significant beneficial interest in an ancillary health service provider or if a facility knows that an ancillary health service provider has a significant beneficial interest in the facility, as provided by subdivision (a) of Section 1323, or if the facility has a significant beneficial interest in another facility, as provided by subdivision (c) of Section 1323, the facility shall disclose that interest in writing to the resident, or the resident’s representative, and advise the resident, or the resident’s representative, that the resident may choose to have another ancillary health service provider, or facility, as the case may be, provide any supplies or services ordered by a member of the medical staff of the facility.

(2) A facility is not required to make any disclosures required by this subdivision to a resident, or the resident’s representative, if the resident is enrolled in an organization or entity that provides or arranges for the provision of health care services in exchange for a prepaid capitation payment or premium.

(h) (1) If a resident of a long-term health care facility has been hospitalized in an acute care hospital and asserts their rights to readmission pursuant to bed hold provisions, or readmission rights of either state or federal law, and the facility refuses to readmit them, the resident may appeal the facility’s refusal.

(2) The refusal of the facility, as described in this subdivision, shall be treated as if it were an involuntary transfer under federal law, and the rights and procedures that apply to appeals of transfers and discharges of nursing facility residents shall apply to the resident’s appeal under this subdivision.

(3) If the resident appeals pursuant to this subdivision, and the resident is eligible under the Medi-Cal program, the resident shall remain in the hospital and the hospital may be reimbursed at the administrative day rate, pending the final determination of the hearing officer, unless the resident agrees to placement in another facility.

(4) If the resident appeals pursuant to this subdivision, and the resident is not eligible under the Medi-Cal program, the resident shall remain in the hospital if other payment is available, pending the final determination of the hearing officer, unless the resident agrees to placement in another facility.

(5) If the resident is not eligible for participation in the Medi-Cal program and has no other source of payment, the hearing and final determination shall be made within 48 hours.

(i) (1) Sections 483.10, 483.12, 483.15, and 483.24 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect on July 13, 2017, shall apply to each skilled nursing facility and intermediate care facility, regardless of a resident’s payment source or the Medi-Cal or Medicare certification status of the skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility in which the resident resides, except that a noncertified facility is not obligated to provide notice of Medicaid or Medicare benefits, covered services, or eligibility procedures.

(2) Sections 483.10, 483.12, 483.15, and 483.24 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect on July 13, 2017, shall apply to each hospice facility, regardless of a resident’s payment source or the Medi-Cal or Medicare certification status of the hospice facility in which the resident resides, except that a noncertified facility is not obligated to provide notice of Medicaid or Medicare benefits, covered services, or eligibility procedures and a hospice facility is not obligated to comply with the provisions of subdivision (f) of Section 483.15 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(3) All residents of skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, and hospice facilities have the right to appeal an involuntary transfer or discharge through the appeal process provided under Section 483.204 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, regardless of a resident’s payment source or the Medi-Cal or Medicare certification status of the skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility, or hospice facility in which the resident resides.

(j) In addition to other rights to provide or withhold informed consent to a proposed treatment or procedure, a resident shall have the right to receive the information that is material to an individual’s informed consent decision concerning whether to accept or refuse the administration of psychotherapeutic drugs pursuant to Sections 72528 and 73524 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. The disclosure of material information for administration of psychotherapeutic drugs shall also include the disclosures required by Section 1599.15.

(k) A resident shall have the right to be free from psychotherapeutic drugs used for the purpose of resident discipline or convenience. The resident shall have the right to be free from psychotherapeutic drugs used as a chemical restraint, except in an emergency as described in subdivision (e) of Section 72528 of, or subdivision (e) of Section 73524 of, Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. If a chemical restraint is administered during that emergency, that drug shall be only a drug that is required to treat the unanticipated condition, after being deemed the least intrusive treatment alternative for the resident, and used only for a specified and limited period of time. As used in this section, “chemical restraint” means a drug used to control behavior and used in a manner not required to treat the resident’s medical symptoms.

(l) “Resident” shall have the same meaning as provided in Section 1599.15.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 794, Sec. 3. (AB 48) Effective January 1, 2024.)