Rights
While you are a patient at a WVU Medicine hospital, you have the right to:
- Be cared for with consideration and respect in a safe environment.
- Be well informed about your illness, possible treatments, and likely outcomes – and have the opportunity to discuss this information with your provider.
- Have a family member and/or your personal physician notified of your admission to the hospital.
- Know the names and roles of the people treating you.
- Have an advance directive.
- Receive information about pain management measures and have staff respond quickly to your reports of pain.
- Expect that the hospital will give you necessary health services to the best of its ability. However, should treatment referral or transfer be recommended, you have the right to be informed of risks, benefits, and alternatives.
- Know if the hospital has relationships with outside parties that may influence your treatment and care.
- Consent or decline to take part in research affecting your care.
- Be told of realistic care alternatives when hospital care is no longer appropriate.
- Know about hospital rules that affect your treatment, and about charges and payment methods.
- Know about hospital resources, such as patient representatives and ethics committee, who can help you to resolve problems and get answers to questions about your hospital stay and care.
- Be as free as possible of pain or other distressing symptoms.
You may call the palliative care team any time:
| J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital and WVU Medicine Children’s | 304-293-4121 |
| United Hospital Center | 681-342-1875 |
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| Camden Clark Medical Center | 304-424-2728 |
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| Berkeley Medical Center | 304-264-1367 |
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| Braxton County Memorial Hospital | 304-364-5156 (Case Management) |
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| Fairmont Medical Center | 304-293-4121 |
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| Jackson General Hospital | Does not have a palliative care team |
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| Jefferson Medical Center | 304-264-1367 |
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| Potomac Valley Hospital | 304-597-3700 (Case Management) |
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| Reynolds Memorial Hospital | Does not have a palliative care team |
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| St. Joseph’s Hospital | 304-473-2139 |
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| Summersville Regional Medical Center | 304-872-2891 (Case Management) |
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| Wetzel County Hospital | Nursing: 304-455-8102 or Social Worker: 304-455-8009 |
Responsibilities
While you are a patient in the hospital, you have the responsibility to:
- Provide information about your health, including past illnesses, hospital stays, and use of medication.
- Ask questions when you do not understand information or instructions.
- Tell your provider if you cannot follow through with a prescribed treatment.
- Be considerate of the needs of other patients, staff, and the hospital.
- Provide insurance information and work with the hospital to arrange payment, when needed.
- Recognize the effect of lifestyle on your personal health.
Role of the Hospital Ethics Committee
WVU Medicine hospitals have ethics committees to help you with difficult decisions and to help resolve conflicts, should they occur, between you and your provider or members of your family.
Ethics committees usually includes doctors, nurses, social workers, ethicists, a hospital administrator, and a hospital chaplain. These professionals have expertise in helping to make healthcare decisions and to resolve conflict.
If you would like to speak with the ethics committee, you can ask a member of your healthcare team to contact them or you may call:
| J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital and WVU Medicine Children’s | 304-598-4167 |
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| United Hospital Center | 681-342-1780 |
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| Camden Clark Medical Center | 304-424-2917 |
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| Berkeley Medical Center | 304-264-1226 |
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| Braxton County Memorial Hospital | 304-364-5156 (Case Management) |
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| Fairmont Medical Center | 304-598-4167 |
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| Jackson General Hospital | 304-373-1507 or 304-373-1525 |
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| Jefferson Medical Center | 304-728-1696 |
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| Potomac Valley Hospital | 304-597-3700 (Case Management) |
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| Reynolds Memorial Hospital | 304-843-3306 or 304-843-3335 |
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| St. Joseph’s Hospital | 304-473-2144 |
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| Summersville Regional Medical Center | 304-872-2891 (Case Management) |
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| Wetzel County Hospital | 304-455-8102 (Nursing) 304-455-8009 (Social Worker) |
Advance Directives: Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney
You have the right to give directions to your family and providers about your future healthcare should you become unable to make decisions for yourself. You can submit these directions through written documents called advance directives.
West Virginia has two advance directives recognized by state law: the living will and the medical power of attorney. Living wills determine withholding or withdrawing of life-prolonging intervention and are completely voluntary.
A medical power of attorney representative is someone age 18 or older who is appointed by another person to make healthcare decisions according to the provisions of West Virginia law.
If you have not completed a living will or medical power of attorney, WVU Medicine encourages you to consider doing so before or shortly after your admission. Notify your doctor or nurse and they can arrange for you to receive copies of the forms and information necessary to complete them.
Completion of advance directives is voluntary and not a condition for admission or continued stay in our hospitals.
All WVU Medicine hospitals recognize a patient’s right to complete a living will and medical power of attorney, and it is our policy that these documents be respected by hospital personnel. In the event that a provider is unable to comply with a patient’s directive, care of the patient will transfer to another provider.
If you choose not to complete an advance directive and become too ill to make decisions for yourself, our hospitals follow the West Virginia Health Care Decisions Act of 2000, which allows you to select a surrogate who assists in making medical decisions for you. By law, the surrogate is usually a close family member or a friend.
Visit the West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care to download medical power of attorney and living will Advance Directive Forms.
Concerns and Complaints
We are committed to providing the highest quality of care. If you have an unsatisfactory experience, please let us know. You may contact the patient advocate, the nurse manager on your unit, or a hospital administrator at any WVU Medicine facility.
| J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital and WVU Medicine Children’s | Patient Advocate: 304-598-4167 |
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| United Hospital Center | Patient Advocate: 681-342-1735 Risk Manager: 681-342-1604 |
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| Camden Clark Medical Center | Risk Management: 304-424-2144 Patient Advocate: 304-424-2712 |
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| Berkeley Medical Center | Patient Advocate: 304-264-1213 Quality and Risk Management: 304-596-5725 Compliance: 304-264-1293 Anonymously Report Concerns 800-340-5877 |
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| Braxton County Memorial Hospital | Quality, Risk, and Compliance: 304-872-8470 |
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| Fairmont Medical Center | Patient Advocate: 304-598-4167 |
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| Jackson General Hospital | Compliance and Risk Management: 304-373-1508 |
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| Jefferson Medical Center | Quality and Risk Management: 304-728-1725 Compliance: 304-264-1293 Anonymously Report Concerns: 800-340-5877 |
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| Potomac Valley Hospital | Compliance Officer: 304-597-3626 |
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| Reynolds Memorial Hospital | Compliance Officer: 304-843-3381 |
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| St. Joseph’s Hospital | Privacy Officer: 304-473-2207 |
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| Summersville Regional Medical Center | Quality, Risk, and Compliance: 304-872-8470 |
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| Wetzel County Hospital | Nursing: 304-455-8102 or Social Worker: 304-455-8009 |
If the hospital does not respond to your complaint to your satisfaction, or if you are unhappy for another reason, you may contact the following:
Abuse and Neglect Hotline
Child and Adult
800-352-6513
Office of Inspector General
Medicaid fraud control
WV Department of Health and Human Resources
408 Leon Sullivan Way
Charleston, WV 25301
304-558-1858
304-558-3498 (fax)
Quality Insights
Concerns about the quality of care received under the Medicaid Program
3001 Chesterfield Avenue
Charleston, WV 25304-1100
304-346-9864
Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification
Report violations and to request an inspection of the facility
WV Department of Health and Human Resources
408 Leon Sullivan Way
Charleston, WV 25301
304-558-0050
Legal Aid of WV
Behavioral health advocacy and long-term and elder care ombudsman
922 Quarrier Street
4th Floor
Charleston, WV 25301
800-834-0598
304-343-4481
Bureau for Children and Families
Adult protective and child welfare services
WV Department of Health and Human Resources
350 Capitol Street
Room 730
Charleston, WV 25301
304-558-7980
West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services
Senior issues and long-term care ombudsman program
Town Center Mall, 3rd level
1900 Kanawha Boulevard East
Charleston, WV 25305
304-558-3317
Disability Rights of West Virginia
Advocates for the legal rights of West Virginians with disabilities
1207 Quarrier Street
Suite 400
Charleston, WV 25301
304-346-0847
Office of Quality and Patient Safety (OQPS)
The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
800-994-6610
Livanta LLC
BFCC-QIO Area 5
10820 Guilford Road, Suite 202
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-1105
888-396-4646
TTY: 888-985-2660