Patient Rights and Responsibilities

The Mission of St. Claire HealthCare is to proclaim God’s goodness through a healing ministry to the people of Eastern Kentucky. Through living our mission, we emphasize the importance of human dignity and social justice. The respect for human dignity and social justice includes respecting your rights as a patient.

Patient Rights

St. Claire HealthCare believes that as a patient, you have the right to:

• Considerate and respectful care and to be free from all forms of abuse and harassment.
• Receive considerate, respectful, and compassionate care regardless of your age, gender, race, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, culture, language, or ability to pay.
• Be well informed about illness, possible risks, benefits, alternatives, and treatment outcomes. You have the right to discuss this information with your healthcare provider and to know the name of the person treating you. You have the right to consent or decline to take part in experimental research that affects your care.
• Participate in the development and implementation of the plan of care and in the decision about receiving or refusing care. You have the right to have your advance directives followed, provided they are not in conflict with St. Claire HealthCare’s philosophy and policies.
• Receive the care that is necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment of your illness or injury. You have the right to receive information about pain and its relief, and to receive a response to reports of pain.
• Expect that our healthcare facility and those caring for you will respect your personal privacy and keep information about your medical care confidential. You have the right to expect that treatment records are confidential unless you have given permission to release information or reporting as required or permitted by law.
• Be free from seclusion and restraints of any form that is not medically necessary or is needed to ensure your physical safety.
• Review your medical records and disclosures of health information, request amendment to, and obtain copies, with some exceptions, in accordance with law and regulation.
• Receive answers to questions about fees and expenses. When possible, you will be told if recommended services are not covered by payers.
• Know our healthcare policies that apply to your conduct as a patient.
• Be informed about available resources for resolving disputes, grievances, and conflicts, such as the Ethics Committee and Director of Patient Experience.
• Receive the visitors whom you designate, whether a spouse, a domestic partner, another family member, or a friend, and withdraw or deny such consent at any time. Visitors may be restricted in an emergency or in other treatment situations.

Patient Responsibilities

St. Claire HealthCare believes as a patient, you have the responsibility to:

• Be respectful to all caregivers and other staff members.
• Be considerate of other patients and visitors and to assist in the control of noise and number of visitors in your room.
• Provide information about your health, including past illnesses, hospital stays, and the use of medicines and supplements. You are responsible for asking questions when you do not understand information or instructions.
• Follow the treatment plan prescribed by your healthcare provider and for indicating whether or not you clearly understand the possible outcome.
• Accept the consequences if you refuse treatment or do not follow the healthcare provider’s instructions.
• Provide information for insurance and for working with St. Claire HealthCare to arrange payment.
  Follow St. Claire HealthCare rules that affect your care and conduct.
• Be respectful of the property of others and of the St. Claire HealthCare facility.

Children and Adolescents: Minors have the same rights and responsibilities as adult patients. To the extent they can comprehend and participate, minors should be included in their plan of care. Parents or guardians execute the patient’s rights and responsibilities on behalf of the minor and receive needed information concerning the minor. Questions concerning care or other issues may be addressed to the healthcare provider by the parent/guardian.

Prisoners: Prisoners, by virtue of their incarceration, have restrictions placed upon the rights as outlined herein. In order to provide for the security and safety of other patients, SCH staff, and correctional facility employees, special security measures are observed while providing care to prisoners. Unless otherwise prohibited, all Rights and Responsibilities are in effect for prisoners.

Nondiscrimination Policy

Discrimination is Against the Law. St. Claire HealthCare complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. St. Claire HealthCare does not exclude people or treat them differently because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. St. Claire HealthCare:

• Provides free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with us, such as qualified sign language interpreters.
• Provides free language services to people whose primary language is not English, such as qualified interpreters.

If you need these services, contact the nursing coordinator at 606.776.3318. If you believe that St. Claire HealthCare has failed to provide these services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex, you can file a grievance with:

You can also file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal, available at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/portal/lobby.jsf, or by mail or phone at: