(TRENTON) – Legislation Assembly Democrats Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Shavonda Sumter and Daniel R. Benson sponsored to protect the rights and safety of the elderly living in continuing care communities was signed into law on Thursday.
“Continuing care retirement communities’ offer lifetime housing and a range of care based on needs,” said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). “This statute will make sure that as those needs change and as financial concerns emerge, there are fair and reasonable protections in place.”
The new law would create the “Bill of Rights for Continuing Care Retirement Community Residents in Independent Living” to establish and clarify the rights of residents living in continuing care retirement communities.
“This will help provide residents in continuing care facilities with a proper voice to ensure that their needs and rights are protected,” said Sumter (D-Bergen/Passaic). “More importantly, it will help improve their quality of life at a time when their health may be particularly fragile, making a crucial difference in their day-to-day living.”
“We measure ourselves by how well we take care of our most vulnerable, and this is designed to ensure we do what’s right by them,” said Benson (D-Middlesex/Mercer). “Ensuring they receive an excellent quality of life is the right thing to do.”
The law will now provide that each prospective continuing care retirement community resident is to receive a copy of a disclosure statement from the facility before the execution of a continuing care agreement, as well as an explanation written in clear and plain language of the rights and responsibilities of a resident.