Healthcare Links in Chatham, New Jersey

Home Care Bill of Right and Responsibilities

As a consumer, you have the right to:

• Receive considerate and respectful care in your home at all times; have your property treated with respect; and receive service free of discrimination.
• Participate in the development of your plan of care, including an explanation of any services proposed and of alternative services that may be available in the community when appropriate, and receive a copy of your Plan of Care.
• Choose your service, the provider of service and request a change in caregiver.
• Receive written information about the agency including the name and number of an official of the agency; the name and qualifications of the supervisor responsible for you service; and agency address and phone number.
• Have your religious beliefs and customs respected and taken into consideration when planning care.
• Refuse medication, treatment, counseling or other services without fear of reprisal or discrimination, and to be informed of the possible results of your actions.
• Privacy and confidentiality about your health, social and financial circumstances; what takes place in your home; and know that all communications and records will be treated confidentially in accordance with HIPAA.
• Expect that all home care personnel, within the limits set by the plan of care, will respond in good faith to your requests for assistance in the home.
• Participate in the plan for discontinuation of care.
• Information on the cost of service; have a clear explanation of which services are covered by third-party and the charges for that which is paid for by the consumer; and have access, upon written request, to all bills for service regardless of whether they are paid for out-of- pocket or through other sources of payment.
• Receive regular supervision of the Caregiver by the appropriate professional.
• Receive a clear explanation of the process for voicing grievances about care, treatment or discontinuation of service and appeal agency decisions regarding care, following grievance procedures, and be given the state hotline or ombudsman number.
• Know that the provider agency maintains liability insurance coverage.
• Receive the services of a translator, if needed.
• Be given necessary information so you can give your informed consent for service; and information about Advanced Directives.

As a consumer, you have a responsibility to:

• Cooperate and participate in implementing your plan of care, as much as you are able.
• Promptly notify the agency if there is a change in your health or physical condition, symptoms, hospitalization, living arrangements or plan of care.
• Inform the agency of any changes made to Advance Directives.
• Respect the rights of all agency personnel and cooperate with them regardless of race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin.
• Provide a safe working environment for care in the home.
• Promptly notify the agency if you are not going to be at home for an assigned visit.

Please call us at (973) 467-8502 with any questions or concerns about home care.  The supervisor of your care will be Matthew Huth , COO.  You may call him with any questions, concerns or complaints. You may also contact the company Chief Executive John Redmond at (973) 467-8502.         

Aquinas Healthcare believes that you have a right to have your complaints heard and resolved by the proper authority in a reasonable and timely manner.  Aquinas Healthcare also recognizes that complaints or dissatisfaction is a valuable performance improvement opportunity.  Therefore, Aquinas Healthcare wants you to know how it handles your concerns about our service.

If you have a complaint or are dissatisfied with our care, you should call the Nurse assigned to your case.  They will contact you by phone or visit your home within one day to investigate and work with you to resolve your dissatisfaction.  If the Nurse cannot help resolve your concerns, please ask them to forward your complaint to the company Chief Executive.  They will also speak with everyone involved and reply to you within five (5) days.  The Chief Executive’s decision will be final.

If your complaint cannot be resolved with the Agency you have hired, you can appeal to one of the following state agencies:

Consumer Protection, New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs                                                        (201) 504-6200

NJ Department of Health                                                                   (800) 792-9770

Complaints about nursing homes, hospitals, residential care facilities, and other licensed health care facilities can be sent to : 300 Whitehead Road, CN 367, Trenton, New Jersey, 08623-0367

NJ Department of Community Affairs –
Ombudsman for institutionalized elderly                                    (800) 624-4262

NJ Board of Nursing    (973) 504-6200
Homemaker-Home Health Aide Certification and Nursing Licensure: P.O. Box 45010, 124 Halsey Street, 6^th Floor, Newark, NJ 07101                                                                        

For Issues regarding Unlicensed Caregivers, Non-Accredited Home Care Agencies, Temp. Agencies Illegally providing Licensed HHAs or CNAs and Illegal Home Care Registries providing HHAs or CNAs please contact: Temporary Employment Agencies – Nurse Registries Licensing
Bureau of Employment and Personal Services
NJ Division of Consumer Affairs P.O. Box 45028
124 Halsey Street, 6^th Floor
Newark, NJ 07101 (973) 504-6370

National Institute for Home Care Accreditation 
Accreditation Program
P.O. Box 367
Herndon, VA 20172                         (703) 435-8382

Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how protected health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.  PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.  This notice is effective October 24, 2002, although our Company began operations in 2009.

Aquinas Healthcare is legally required to protect your privacy and provide you with this notice.  The following summary outlines the kinds of information that Aquinas Healthcare may collect, what is done with the information after it is collected, how you can find out about information we have about you in our records, if any, and how disclosure of your protected health information is made. 

Notice of Service Information Practices:

When you apply for any type of service you reveal a certain amount of information about yourself.  Laws regulate the collection, use and disclosure of such information.  Aquinas Healthcare takes the protection and confidentiality of your personal health information very seriously.  Therefore, it is the policy of Aquinas Healthcare to:

• Collect only the information necessary or relevant to our business of caring for you in your home
• Make a reasonable effort to ensure that the information we act upon is accurate, relevant, timely and complete
• Use only legitimate means to collect information
• Makes disclosure of personal health and financial information only in response to legitimate treatment, payment or health care operations requests, to accreditation, regulatory, public health or other government authorities or others when properly authorized by you, or as otherwise permitted by law.
• Limit employees’ access to your information to only those who have a business reason for knowing such information and are trained in the proper handling of personal health information.

What kind of information does Aquinas Healthcare collect and from whom?

We get most of your information directly from you.  The application and assessments completed and questions answered upon intake and admission generally gives us the basic information we have complied.  Depending upon the nature of your needs and consent to make additional referrals or inquiries we may collect further information to support these requests for service.  Additional information will be gathered from you or other care givers as we continue to provide care to you and this information becomes relevant to the scope and type of care you require.

If you are receiving services from a government funded program, which requires a physician’s medical authorization, we may contact your doctor to verify your need for care and approval of the Plan of Care.  If you are receiving other community services, they may have provided us with basic referral information.

What do we do with the information collected about you?

Information collected about you is maintained in a confidential client record file.  We use this information to continue to provide care, bill for services, and in emergency situations.  We use non-identifying information (gender, age, zip code, diagnosis, etc.) to comply with community health surveys, reports and to demonstrate need for additional community funding.

Your client record is kept for seven years after you have been permanently discharged from service.

To whom do we disclose information about you?

• Law enforcement or other government authorities to report things like abuse, neglect, or exploitation or to avoid serious threat to the health or safety of a person or public and to prevent or lessen such harm
• Authorized persons as ordered by a subpoena, warrant or other court order, or as required by law
• Accreditation, regulatory agencies, funding or payer entities, and others in order to make sure we’re complying with the laws that affect us, to operate Aquinas Healthcare, and receive payment for your care
• Authorized persons involved in your treatment or those involved in your care or the coordination of your care such as physicians, hospital discharge planners, visiting nurses, care managers or public funding agencies
• Public health agencies for mandatory reporting of specific diseases
• Family, friends or others you have indicated are involved in your care unless you object

Your authorization to disclose information about you is required when?

               When information about you is disclosed for purposes other than those allowed by law, you will be asked to complete a consent form to release this information and this will be documented in your client record.  Our consent form is required prior to the start of services. You may revoke this authorization in writing to stop any further release of information to the extent that we have not taken any action relying on the authorization.  We do not provide your information to outside organization or persons for marketing, fundraising or similar purposes without your specific consent.

How do we protect the confidentiality of information about you?

Aquinas Healthcare maintains security standards and procedures to prevent unauthorized access to your information.  We limit employee access to personal identifiable information to those with a business reason for knowing such information.  Your paper records are secured in a locked cabinet with access restricted to those who have a need to know the information for treatment, payment, or operational purposes.  Aquinas Healthcare believes in educating it employees so that they will understand the importance of protecting the confidentiality of your information, and in acting appropriately to enforce employee privacy responsibilities.  Aquinas Healthcare considers any violation of confidentiality by its employees a serious offense.  When you cease being a client, we will continue to protect your information in the same manner.

How can you find out about information we have about you?

You have a right to know what kind of information we keep about you in your file, and to have reasonable access to the information.  We will not send you any medical information we have received about you from a doctor or other health care provider.  Instead, you should contact the doctor or health care provider directly to obtain the information you seek.

To submit a request for information, please send your written request to Aquinas Healthcare at the above address.  Upon receipt of your written request to review your records, we will inform you in writing, within thirty days (30), of the nature and substance of retrievable recorded personal information about you in our files.  You may request, in writing, a copy of this information from us for a reasonable charge ($1.00 per page up to a maximum of $50.00 per file, plus postage or delivery charges). 

How can I correct or update my personal health information?

If you believe that personal information we have about you in our records is incomplete or inaccurate, you may request, in writing, that we make any necessary corrections to the disputed personal information.  We will respond within sixty days (60) of receiving your written request.  If you request is approved we will make the changes and tell you that we have done it, and others that need to know about the changes.  We may deny your request if the personal health information is correct and complete, not created by use, not allowed to be disclosed, or not part of our records.

If you think we have violated your privacy rights you may contact the Chief Executive of Aquinas Healthcare at the above address or by calling (973) 467-8502 or file a written complaint to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services at 200 Independence Ave., S.W.; Room 615 F; Washington, DC 20201.  Your service will not be affected nor will Aquinas Healthcare take any action against you if you file a complaint about our privacy practices.