Reports on Violations of Nursing Home Visiting Hours 

The Regulation

• 483.10 Resident rights (f)(4)

a. The resident has a right to receive visitors of his or her choosing at the time of his or her choosing, subject to the resident’s right to deny visitation when applicable, and in a manner that does not impose on the rights of another

i)  The facility must provide immediate access to any resident by—

A.  Any representative of the Secretary,

B.   Any representative of the State,

C.  Any representative of the Office of the State long term care ombudsman, (established under section 712 of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended 2016 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et ),

D.  The resident’s individual physician

E.  Any representative of the protection and advocacy systems, as designated by the state, and as established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42S.C. 15001 et seq.),

F.  Any representative of the agency responsible for the protection and advocacy system for individuals with a mental disorder (established under the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 2000 (42S.C. 10801 et seq.), and

G.  The resident representative.

ii)  The facility must provide immediate access to a resident by immediate family and other relatives of the resident, subject to the resident’s right to deny or withdraw consent at any time;

iii)  The facility must provide immediate access to a resident by others who are visiting with the consent of the resident, subject to reasonable clinical and safety restrictions and the resident’s right to deny or withdraw consent at any time;

iv)  The facility must provide reasonable access to a resident by any entity or individual that provides health, social, legal, or other services to the resident, subject to the resident’s right to deny or withdraw consent at any time; and

v)  The facility must have written policies and procedures regarding the visitation rights of residents, including those setting forth any clinically necessary or reasonable restriction or limitation or safety restriction or limitation, when such limitations may apply consistent with the requirements of this subpart, that the facility may need to place on such rights and the reasons for the clinical or safety restriction or limitation.

vi)  facility must meet the following requirements:

A.  Inform each resident (or resident representative, where appropriate) of his or her visitation rights and related facility policy and procedures, including any clinical or safety restriction or limitation on such rights, consistent with the requirements of this subpart, the reasons for the restriction or limitation, and to whom the restrictions apply, when he or she is informed of his or her other rights under this section.

B.  Inform each resident of the right, subject to his or her consent, to receive the visitors whom he or she designates, including, but not limited to, a spouse (including a same-sex spouse), a domestic partner (including a same-sex domestic partner), another family member, or a friend, and his or her right to withdraw or deny such consent at any

C.  Not restrict, limit, or otherwise deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or

D.  Ensure that all visitors enjoy full and equal visitation privileges consistent with resident preferences.

The law that this regulation is based on went into effect back in 1989!  You’d think 27 years later all nursing homes would be automatically following it.  You’d think people living in nursing homes could have visits by whomever they choose whenever they choose.  Unfortunately, in many of our nursing homes, this is not the case.  

Voices is trying to gather data that will give us an indication as to just how wide-spread problems with nursing homes trying to restrict visitors actually are.  This is one of the first steps in finally seeing this regulation universally enforced.  Please help us with this!  If you have had experience with nursing home visitations that were restricted , please fill out the form below and let us add it to our records.  If you need help in exercising this right, let us know that also.