27A-1-18. Designation of caregiver to receive information regarding resident of treatment facilities. A resident of a treatment facility may designate a caregiver to receive notice of the resident's treatment and aftercare plan developed under § 27A-12-3.7 upon the resident's admission into the treatment facility or, for any resident who is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon admission into the treatment facility, upon the resident's recovery of consciousness or capacity. For any resident who is unable to make decisions upon the resident's admission into a treatment facility, the resident's guardian, durable power of attorney for healthcare as defined in § 34-12C-1, or any person authorized to make decisions for the resident under § 34-12C-2 may designate a caregiver to receive notice of the resident's treatment and aftercare plan.

Upon a resident's admission into a treatment facility, or upon the resident's recovery of consciousness or capacity, the treatment facility shall inform the resident of the right to designate a caregiver to receive notice of the resident's treatment and aftercare plan.

A treatment facility shall request and document in a resident's record the name, address, telephone number, and relationship to the resident of any caregiver designated under this section; a choice under this section not to make a designation under this section; and any change in designation of a caregiver under this section. The record under this section shall be provided to any treatment facility to which the resident may be transferred.

A resident may revoke the designation of a caregiver under this section at any time.

For purposes of this section, a caregiver is a person who provides informal support and advocacy, without pay, for any family member or friend who is a resident in need of support due to any physical, cognitive, or mental health condition. A caregiver under this section is not a health care professional.

Nothing in this section alters or interferes with any right or obligation of an agent designated as a power of attorney for health care under § 59-7-2.1. Nothing in this section imposes any obligation or any civil liability on a caregiver designated under this section.

Source: SL 2019, ch 126, § 1.