Notice to Patients Regarding Your Rights

Our staff is committed to providing the highest quality care possible. If you should have questions or concerns about your care, please discuss it with your physician, nurses, department manager, or the hospital's patient advocate.

The patient advocate will:

• Listen to, investigate, and make every effort to resolve your concerns;
• Help you, your family or an individual of your choice understand your rights as a patient;
• Be a resource and help you understand hospital practices concerning your care;
• Help you get the information you need and want about your care.

Please ask for the department manager or patient advocate if you have any questions or concerns that cannot be addressed by your doctor or nurses. We encourage you to call as soon as questions or concerns arise.

HOSPITAL PATIENT ADVOCATE: (207) 373-6380

Other Alternatives Available to You

You also have the right to lodge a grievance or complaint about your hospital stay or the care you received while at the hospital directly with the Maine Department of Human Services Division of Licensing and Certification.* To do so, you may call or write to:

Maine Department of Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification
State House Station 11
Augusta, Maine 04333-0011
TEL: 1(800) 621-8222 / TTY: (207) 287-9312

Provided by The Maine Hospital Association in collaboration with Maine Department of Human Services-Division of Licensing and Certification
* This agency does not address concerns about your hospital bill. Please contact the hospital directly if you have a question about your bill.

You may also express a concern through the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). You can contact The Joint Commission by:

Toll-Free Phone: 8:30 to 5 p.m., Central Time, weekdays (800) 994-6610
Fax: Office of Quality Monitoring (630) 792-5636
Mail: Office of Quality Monitoring, The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
E-Mail: complaint@jointcommission.org

Learn how The Joint Commission responds http://www.jointcommission.org/report_a_complaint.aspx

Patient's Rights and Responsibilities at Mid Coast Hospital

Click Here for .PDF Version

As you become a patient at Mid Coast Hospital, it is our duty to remind you that your healthcare is a combined effort between you as a patient, your doctor and nurse, and other hospital staff.

The following is a list of rights you can expect as a patient.

1. Right to be cared for regardless of your age, color, mental or physical disabilities, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, sex, or ability to pay.
2. Right to be respected at all times.
3. Right to privacy and confidentiality.
4. Right to personal safety.
5. Right to know the identity of your caregivers.
6. Right to have all ethical issues addressed in providing care.
7. Right to pastoral care and other spiritual services.
8. Right to have Informed Consent obtained.
9. Right to being informed and the right to receive such information in terms that you can understand.
10. Right to an interpreter when English is not your primary language.
11. Right to ongoing evaluation of therapeutic effectiveness.
12. Right to be involved in all aspects of your care and to be part of the decisions affecting your care.
13. Right to be involved in resolving dilemmas about care decisions.
14. Right to have family participate in care decisions.
15. Right to ask for and get a second opinion regarding your health condition and plan of care.
16. Right to have your Advance Directives addressed and your wishes regarding withholding care honored.
17. Right to refuse treatment as permitted by law and to be told of the medical consequences of such refusal.
18. Right to be transferred to another hospital if and when you feel you would be better cared for elsewhere.
19. Right to have a means to resolve complaints.
20. Right to a full explanation to you and your family of any restrictions on communication, and restrictions are determined with your participation.
21. Right to talk with people outside of the hospital.
22. Right to participate in teaching programs available at the hospital, or the right to ask for information on where to obtain teaching programs when not available at Mid Coast Hospital.
23. Right to be told of any further healthcare requirements following discharge from the hospital.
24. Right to access to protective services.
25. Rights of the Patient with Pain:
    1. Right to information about pain and pain relief measures.
    2. Right to a concerned staff committed to pain prevention.
    3. Right to health professionals who respond quickly to reports of pain.
    4. Right to state-of-the-art pain management.
    5. Right to dedicated pain relief specialists.
    6. Right to have pain expressions believed.
26. Rights of the Dying Patient:
    1. Right to be comforted by medication for pain and suffering.
    2. Right to be treated as desired by you, or any other designated decision maker (i.e., legal guardian, family member).
    3. Right to express any spiritual and emotional concerns you might have about dying and the chance to express your grief.

The following is a list of responsibilities that we can expect of you as a patient at Mid Coast Hospital:

We need you to give us, to the best of your abilities, information about your present sickness, pain, past illnesses, medication(s), and other matters pertaining to your care.

We need you to report to us any symptoms indicating a change in your health.

We need you to follow the plan of care recommended by your doctor, nurses, and other hospital staff.

We need you to accept responsibility for your own actions should you decide to refuse treatment and/or not follow your doctor's advice.

Consent to Treatment

Please review the linked Mid Coast Hospital Consent to Treatment Form, available as a .PDF.

This form covers several important topics include consent to medical treatment, release of health care information, payment and/or assignment of benefits, specialized releases, and other patient rights and responsibilities.

Information About COVID-19

Mid Coast Hospital is working to ensure that our patients and employees are kept as safe and protected as possible from COVID-19. To view the latest local COVID-19 updates, including current impacts to Mid Coast Hospital�s visitor policy and safety guidelines in place, please visit: https://www.midcoasthealth.com/covid19/