Information About Patient Rights And Responsibilities

Loma Linda University Children's Hospital is committed to providing high-quality, cost-effective healthcare to the communities we serve. We believe that every patient deserves to be treated with respect, dignity, and concern. We will provide care regardless of race, creed, sex, national origin, or source of payment.

We consider you a partner in your healthcare. When you are well informed, participate in treatment decisions, and communicate openly with your doctor and other health professionals, you help make your care as effective as possible. Loma Linda University Children's Hospital encourages respect for the personal preferences and values of each individual. It is our goal to assure that your rights as a patient are observed and to act as a partner in your decision making process.

While you are a patient at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, you have the right to:

  • Communicate with people inside and outside the Children's Hospital. If you do not speak or understand English, you have the right to have access to an interpreter. If you have a hearing impairment, you should have access to a TDD or an interpreter.
  • Receive considerate care that respects your personal value and belief systems.
  • Expect that the Children's Hospital will give you necessary health services to the best of our ability.
  • Informed participation in decisions regarding your care.
    • Know the names and professional status of individuals providing service to you and to know which physician or other practitioner is primarily responsible for your care.
    • Receive complete and current information from your physician regarding your diagnosis, recommended treatment, and prognosis in language which is reasonable and understandable.
    • Accept or decline treatment to the extent permitted by law after having received clear, concise information from your physician. Be informed of the consequences of refusing treatment. You should not be subjected to any non-emergency procedure without voluntary, competent, and understanding consent on your part or the part of your legally authorized representative.
    • Consult with a specialist at your expense and request.
    • Receive information about Advance Directives and/or an Advance Health-care Directive, have an Advance Directive, and/or name another individual as agent to make health-care decisions for you if you become incapable of making your own decisions or if you want someone else to make those decisions for you now even though you are still capable--to the extent permitted by law.
  • Receive care that respects your psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural values.
  • Be allowed personal and informational privacy.
  • Be informed of any human experimentation or other research/educational projects affecting your care or treatment.
  • Communicate any complaints or concerns that arise in the provision of your care, without threat of discrimination or reprisal.
    • A grievance or complaint can be communicated verbally, by phone, or in writing to a staff member, nurse manager, or patient relations at (909) 558-4647. Your complaint will be investigated and the appropriate person(s) will respond to you in a timely manner.
  • Participate in any ethical issues that arise in the provision of your care.
    • Receive information on ethical issues related to healthcare.
    • Decisions about medical care for yourself or for someone else can be very hard to make alone. Your doctors, nurses, social worker, or chaplain are willing to help. Loma Linda University Children's Hospital has an Ethics Consultation Service which is made up of medical professionals who are also trained in clinical ethics. They are available seven days a week to come and talk with you and/or your family to help you decide what is best for you. This can be helpful when the people involved do not agree about what should be done. This difference of opinion may be between you and your family, or between you and your doctors. Ethics consultations may be requested by you, your family, your doctor, your nurse, or anyone else involved in your care. Just ask your doctor or nurse to call if you would like the help of an ethics consultant.
  • Receive a satisfactory explanation of your statement of charges, regardless of your source of payment.
  • Be placed in protective privacy when considered necessary for your personal safety.
  • Receive reasonable continuity of care.
  • Designate visitors of your choosing, if you have decision-making capacity, whether or not the visitor is related by blood or marriage, unless:
    • No visitors are allowed.
    • Loma Linda University Children's Hospital reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of a patient, a member of the health facility staff, or other visitors to the health facility, or would significantly disrupt the operations of the facility.
    • You have indicated to the health facility staff that you no longer want this person to visit.
  • Have your wishes considered for the purposes of determining who may visit if you lack decision-making capacity and to have the method of that consideration disclosed in the hospital policy on visitation. At a minimum, the hospital shall include any persons living in the household.
  • This visitation section may not be construed to prohibit a health facility from otherwise establishing reasonable restrictions upon visitation, including restrictions upon the hours of visitation and the number of visitors.

In addition to the rights listed above, the Association for the Care of Children's Health (ACCH) developed a Bill of Rights for children, which includes:

  • Care that supports children and their families.
  • Care that respects their need to grow, play, and learn.
  • Information that they can understand.
  • Opportunity to make choices.

You also have certain responsibilities while you are a patient at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, including:

  • Providing, to the best of your knowledge, an accurate and complete description of your present condition and past medical history, including past illnesses, medications, and hospitalizations.
  • Making an effort to understand your health-care needs and asking your physician or other members of the health-care team for information relating to your treatment.
  • Reporting any changes in your condition to your physician and indicating whether you understand a suggested course of action.
  • Informing those who treat you whether or not you think you can, and want to, permit or decline specific treatment.
  • Following the Children's Hospital's policies which affect patient care and conduct.
  • Abiding by local, state, and federal laws.
  • Keeping appointments and cooperating with your physicians and others caring for you.
  • Meeting your financial commitment to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, which has supplied resources to meet your health-care needs, as soon as possible.
  • Being considerate of other persons and upholding the rights of all patients as observed by Loma Linda University Children's Hospital.

If you have any questions or concerns while you are at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, please call patient relations at (909) 558-4647 or extension 44647.

Adapted from the California Health and Safety Code, Title 22, Section 70707, the American Hospital Association, A Patient's Bill of Rights 10/21/92, and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.