Statement of Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Our Dedication To Quality Medical Care

At WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital, we are committed to delivering quality medical care to you, our patient, and to making your stay as pleasant as possible.

The following "Statement of Patient Rights," endorsed by the administration and staff of this hospital, applies to all patients. In the event that you are unable to exercise these rights on your own behalf, these rights are applicable to your designated/legal representative.

Questions, Problems, or Unmet Needs

Being a good patient does not mean being a silent one. If you have questions, problems or unmet needs please let us know.

If you would like further clarification of the "Rights and Responsibilities" as they pertain to you or wish to register a complaint/grievance with hospital personnel, please contact:

WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital Quality Management Department 
500 West Berkeley Street, Uniontown, PA 15401

724-430-5249

Should you feel your concerns are not adequately addressed, you may notify Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Pennsylvania Department of Health Acute & Ambulatory Care Services
P.O. Box 90, Harrisburg, PA 17108-0090

800-254-5164

If you have issues related to safety and quality of care on a continuous basis, you may notify The Joint Commission. This is a regulatory accreditation organization that evaluates the quality of care in health care organizations.

Office of Quality Monitoring Joint Commission
One Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrace, IL  60181

800-994-6610

"This Statement of Patient Rights was developed by the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania in collaboration with patient representative at HAP member hospitals and health systems." 

As it is our goal to provide medical care that is effective and considerate within our capacity, mission and philosophy, applicable law and regulation, we submit this to you as a statement of our policy.

  • You have the right to respectful care given by competent personnel that reflects consideration of your personal value and belief systems and that optimizes your comfort and dignity.
  • You have the right to know what hospital rules and regulations apply to your conduct as a patient.
  • You have the right to expect emergency procedures to be implemented without unnecessary delay.
  • You have the right to good quality care and high professional standards that are continually maintained and reviewed.
  • You have the right to expect good management techniques to be implemented within the hospital considering effective use of your time and to avoid your personal discomfort. 
  • You have the right to medical and nursing services without discrimination based upon race, color, religion, gender, sexual preference, disability, national origin or source of payment.
  • You have the right, in collaboration with your physician, to make decisions involving your health care. This right applies to the family and/or guardian of newborns, children and adolescents.
  • You have the right not to be involved in any experimental, research, donor program or educational activities unless you have, or your designated/legal representative has, given informed consent prior to the actual participation in such a program. You or your designated/legal representative may, at any time, refuse to continue in any such program to which informed consent has previously been given.
  • You have the right to accept medical care or to refuse any drugs, treatment, or procedure offered by the hospital, to the extent permitted by law, and a physician shall inform you of the medical consequences of such refusal.
  • You have the right to participate in the consideration of ethical issues surrounding your care, within the framework established by this organization to consider such issues. 
  • You have the right to formulate an "advance directive" or to appoint a surrogate to make health care decisions on your behalf. These decisions will be honored by this hospital and its health care professionals within the limits of the law and this organization's mission values and philosophy.
  • If you have an advance directive, you are responsible for providing a copy of your advance directive to the hospital. However, you are not required to have an advance directive in order to receive care.
  • You have the right to assistance in obtaining consultation with another physician at your request and expense. 

When this hospital cannot meet the request or need for care because of a conflict with our mission or philosophy or incapacity to meet your needs or requests, you may be transferred to another facility when medically permissible.

Such a transfer should be made only after you or your designated/legal representative have received complete information and explanation concerning the need for, and alternatives to, such a transfer. The transfer must be acceptable to the other institution.

  • You have the right to examine and receive a detailed explanation of your bill.
  • You have the right to full information and counseling on the availability of known financial resources for your health care.
  • You have the right to expect that the health care facility will provide a mechanism whereby you are informed upon discharge of continuing health care requirements following discharge and the means for meeting them.

You cannot be denied the right of access to an individual or agency who is authorized to act on your behalf to assert or protect the rights set out in this section.

Information regarding your rights as a patient should be provided to you during the admissions process or at the earliest possible appropriate moment during the course of your hospitalization.

  • You have the right, without recrimination, to voice complaints regarding your care, to have those complaints reviewed and, when possible, resolved.
  • You have the right to appropriate assessment and management of pain.
  • You have the right to be free from any form of restraints - both physical and drug - that is not medically necessary or is used as means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.
  • You have the right to be free from seclusion and restraint in any form imposed as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint in writing with our Privacy Officer or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

While the hospital recognizes your right to participate in your care and treatment to the fullest extent possible, there are circumstances under which you may be unable to do so.

In these situations (e.g., if you have been adjudicated incompetent in accordance with law, are found by your physician to be medically incapable of understanding the proposed treatment or procedure, are unable to communicate your wishes regarding treatment, or are an un-emancipated minor) your rights are to be exercised, to the extent permitted by law, by your designated representative or other legally designated person.

  • You have the right to make decisions regarding the withholding of resuscitative services or the forgoing of or the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment within the limits of the law and the policies of this institution.
  • You have the right, upon request, to be given the name of your attending physician, the names of all other physicians or practitioners directly participating in your care, and the names and professional status of other healthcare personnel, including medical students, residents or other trainees, having direct contact with you.
  • You have the right to every consideration of privacy concerning your medical care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are considered confidential and should be conducted discreetly giving reasonable visual and auditory privacy when possible. That includes the right, if requested, to have someone present while physical examination, treatment or procedure is being performed, as long as they do not interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatment, and to request a room transfer if another patient or a visitor in the room is unreasonably disturbing you and another room equally suitable for your care need is available.
  • You have the right to have all information, including records, pertaining to your medical care treated as confidential except as otherwise provided by law or third-party contractual arrangement.
  • You have the right to have your medical records read only by individuals directly involved in your care, by individuals monitoring the quality of your care, or by individuals authorized by law or regulation. The hospital shall provide you, or your designated/legal representative, upon request, access to all information contained in your medical records, unless access is specifically restricted by the attending physician for medical reason.
  • You have the right to receive information on how we will use your personal health information. Our Notice of Privacy Practices provides you with a full description of the ways in which we use and protect your health information. 
  • You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you. You also have the right to revoke or revise any authorization you have signed for any disclosure other than treatment, payment or health care operations.
  • You have the right to request a copy of your medical records (note there may be a fee for the copying of your medical records). If you feel that your information on file is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information.
  • You have the right to request an accounting or list of certain disclosures we have made of your medical information. The list may not include disclosures made prior to April 2003.
  • You have the right to be communicated with in a manner that is clear, concise and understandable.  If you do not speak English, you should have access, where possible, to an interpreter.
  • You have the right to full information in layman's terms, concerning diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, including information about alternative treatments and possible complications. When it is not medically advisable that such information be given to you, the information shall be given on your behalf to your designated/legal representative.

Except for emergencies, the physician must obtain the necessary informed consent prior to the start of any procedure or treatment, or both.

As a patient, you should assume responsibility for the following:

The hospital expects that you or your designated/legal representative will provide accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, "advance directives," and other matters relating to your health history or care in order for you to receive effective medical treatment.

  • You are responsible for reporting whether you clearly comprehend a contemplated course of action and what is expected of you. 
  • The hospital expects that you will cooperate with all hospital personnel and ask questions if directions and/or procedures are not clearly understood. 
  • You are expected to be considerate of other patients and hospital personnel, to assist in the control of noise and visitors in your room, and to observe the tobacco-free policy of this institution. You are also expected to be respectful of the property of other persons and the property of the health center.

In order to facilitate your care and efforts of the hospital personnel, you are expected to help the physicians, nurses and allied medical personnel in their efforts to care for you by following their instructions and medical orders.

  • Duly authorized members of your family or designated/legal representative are expected to be available to hospital personnel for review of your treatment in the event you are unable to properly communicate with our health care givers.

It is understood that you assume the financial responsibility of paying for all services rendered either through third-party payers (your insurance company) or being personally responsible for payment for any services that are not covered by your insurance.

It is expected that you will not take drugs that have not been prescribed by your attending physician and administered by hospital staff and that you will not complicate or endanger the healing process by consuming alcoholic beverages or toxic substances during your hospital stay.