Your Rights & Protections
At Empower Treatment, your rights as a patient are always respected, protected, and prioritized. Here is a list of your rights as a behavioral health patient enshrined by Ohio Administrative Code, Rule 5122-26-18:
(1) The right to be treated with consideration and respect for personal dignity, autonomy and privacy;
(2) The right to reasonable protection from physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect, and inhumane treatment;
(3) The right to receive services in the least restrictive, feasible environment;
(4) The right to participate in any appropriate and available service that is consistent with an individual service plan (ISP), regardless of the refusal of any other service, unless that service is a necessity for clear treatment reasons and requires the person's participation;
(5) The right to give informed consent to or to refuse any service, treatment or therapy, including medication absent an emergency;
(6) The right to participate in the development, review and revision of one's own individualized treatment plan and receive a copy of it;
(7) The right to freedom from unnecessary or excessive medication, and to be free from restraint or seclusion unless there is immediate risk of physical harm to self or others;
(8) The right to be informed and the right to refuse any unusual or hazardous treatment procedures;
(9) The right to be advised and the right to refuse observation by others and by techniques such as one-way vision mirrors, tape recorders, video recorders, television, movies, photographs or other audio and visual technology. This right does not prohibit an agency from using closed-circuit monitoring to observe seclusion rooms or common areas, which does not include bathrooms or sleeping areas;
(10) The right to confidentiality of communications and personal identifying information within the limitations and requirements for disclosure of client information under state and federal laws and regulations;
(11) The right to have access to one's own client record unless access to certain information is restricted for clear treatment reasons. If access is restricted, the treatment plan shall include the reason for the restriction, a goal to remove the restriction, and the treatment being offered to remove the restriction;
(12) The right to be informed a reasonable amount of time in advance of the reason for terminating participation in a service, and to be provided a referral, unless the service is unavailable or not necessary;
(13) The right to be informed of the reason for denial of a service;
(14) The right not to be discriminated against for receiving services on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, color, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental handicap, developmental disability, genetic information, human immunodeficiency virus status, or in any manner prohibited by local, state or federal laws;
(15) The right to know the cost of services;
(16) The right to be verbally informed of all client rights, and to receive a written copy upon request;
(17) The right to exercise one's own rights without reprisal, except that no right extends so far as to supersede health and safety considerations;
(18) The right to file a grievance;
(19) The right to have oral and written instructions concerning the procedure for filing a grievance, and to assistance in filing a grievance if requested;
(20) The right to be informed of one's own condition; and,
(21) The right to consult with an independent treatment specialist or legal counsel at one's own expense.
Empower Treatment takes Client’s rights very seriously and we understand all of our work is lost if a client’s rights are violated and they no longer feel safe in our care. Empower Treatment shall ensure that client rights are maintained in accordance with all relevant laws and standards. Should a client or other stakeholders feel that client rights have not been upheld by the agency, or by any staff member of Empower Treatment, the client shall have the opportunity to file a grievance in a confidential and easily accessible manner. Grievance procedures shall be understood by all Empower Treatment staff and shall be explained to clients and other stakeholders in a meaningful manner. Empower Treatment shall ensure that the client rights officer takes all necessary steps to assure compliance with the grievance procedure. Empower Treatment will also maintain a record for at least 2 years from the resolution of said grievance. This record shall include a copy of the grievance, documentation reflecting the process used and the resolution or remedy of the grievance. In addition, if applicable documentation will be included of extenuating circumstances for extending the time period for resolving the grievance more than 20 business days.
Our Grievance Process
The agency shall adhere to the following procedures regarding grievances:
1. A client may file a grievance at any time. Grievance procedures are located on the Empower Treatment website and in a conspicuous place for any building used by the agency. A copy of the grievance procedure shall be made available to anyone upon verbal or written request.
2. All grievances filed must be put in writing. The grievance may be filed verbally by the client. If filed verbally by a client, it is the responsibility of the client advocate to prepare a written text of the grievance. Accessibility exceptions will always be made.
3. All Empower Treatment staff shall review the client rights and grievance procedure during orientation and annually and direct any questions to his/her supervisor or the agency Client Rights Officer.
4. Assistance is provided to the client in understanding the grievance process and filing the grievance by the Client Rights Officer and/or designee of the Executive Director of Empower Treatment who is not the subject of the grievance.
5. The client is given a ‘Grievance Summary Form’ to complete and it is available through the Empower Treatment website. This form must contain a written description of said incident to include if available, the approximate time, date, name or names of individuals involved or the situation which is being grieved. Each form must also be signed and dated by the client, the individual filing the grievance on behalf of the client or have an attestation by the client advocate that said grievance is true and accurate representation of the client’s grievance.
6. Upon receipt of a grievance, Empower Treatment will issue a written acknowledgement of receipt in no more than 3 business days. Said receipt will include the date of which Empower Treatment received the grievance, a summary of the grievance, a timetable for completion of the investigation, notification of resolution, and the provider contact name, address as well as the phone number of the provider.
7. The Client Rights Officer will investigate the grievance on behalf of the client and provide agency representation for the client at the agency hearing on the grievance if desired by the client.
8. If there is no immediate resolution, the client and the Client Rights Officer will meet with the Executive Director of Empower Treatment to hear the grievance. Written results of this meeting are given to the client after appropriate action has been taken.
9. If the above meeting does not result in resolution, clients are referred to appropriate outside resources.
10. A client should expect a response from Empower Treatment within 24 hours of filing a grievance. If the Client Rights Officer is not available within 24 hours, the complaint shall be taken to the Clinical Director or Executive Director. The client or the individual filing a grievance on behalf of the client, with client’s permission, will be given written confirmation that the grievance is being processed, who is involved in the grievance process, the actions or resolutions being proposed, and the opportunity to be heard by an impartial decision-maker.
11. No grievance shall take longer than 20 business days to resolve. Should a grievance due to extenuating circumstances take longer than 20 business days to be resolved, documentation of said circumstances shall be documented and placed in the grievance file that will be stored for no less than two years from date of resolution.
12. Grievances against the Client Rights Officer shall be filed with the Executive Director of Empower Treatment in accordance with the established grievance procedures.
13. There will be no retaliation or barrier to service if a client files a complaint or grievance.
14. A copy of each grievance shall be filed and maintained by Empower Treatment. The file on each grievance shall include a copy of the grievance, documentation reflecting the process used and the resolution/remedy of the grievance. File will also include if applicable any extenuating circumstances that caused the resolution of said grievance to take longer than 20 business days.
15. Upon the request of the client or individual filing a grievance on behalf of the client, with client’s permission, all relevant information about the grievance will be forwarded to the Ombudsman.
16. A client has the option to file a grievance with an outside organization directly, and in doing, bypass Empower Treatment internal grievance procedures. Outside organizations include:
Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board
77 South High Street, (Vern Riffe Centers) 16th Floor; Columbus, Ohio 43215
Contact: General Inquiries: (614) 387-1110; Fax number: (614)387-1109; General E-mail: info@ocdp.ohio.gov
OMHAS Consumer Advocacy and Protection Specialist; 30 East Broad Street, ; Suite 742 Columbus, Ohio 43215-3430
Contact: Phone: 877-275-6364 (family and consumer only); Phone: 614-466-7228 (all others)
Local ADAMHS Governing Body
Adams, Lawrence, Scioto ADAMH Board
919 7th Street Portsmouth, OH 45662
Phone: 740-354-5648; Fax: 740-353-5327
Disability Rights Ohio
200 Civic Center Drive Suite 300 Columbus, Ohio 43215
Contact: 614-466-7264 or 1-800-282-9181; Fax: 614-1888
