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Promising Practices

Honoring Resident Lifestyle Choices



Married Couples

Below is the full text of the CMS Interpretive Guidelines changes for the tags related to dining.

The CMS Tag Revisions are in red italics.
 Portions of new text related to resident lifestyle choices are bookened with these symbols.

The CMS interpretive Guidelines beyond dining can be accessed at: 
June 12 2009 CMS Interpretive Guidelines.

§483.10(m) Married Couples
The resident has the right to share a room with his or her spouse when married residents live in the same facility and both spouses consent to the arrangement.

Interpretive Guidelines: §483.10(m)

The right of residents who are married to each other to share a room does not give a resident the right, or the facility the responsibility, to compel another resident to relocate to accommodate a spouse. The requirement means that when a room is available for a married couple to share, the facility must permit them to share it if they choose. If a married resident's spouse is admitted to the facility later and the couple want to share a room, the facility must provide a shared room as quickly as possible. However, a couple is not able to share a room if one of the spouses has a different payment source for which the facility is not certified (if the room is in a distinct part, unless one of the spouses elects to pay for his or her care). This regulation does not prohibit the facility from accommodating residents who wish to room with another nursing home resident of their choice. For issues of residents being prohibited from rooming with persons of their choice, use §483.15(b)(3), Self-determination and Participation, F242: "The resident has the right to make choices about aspects of his or her life in the facility that are significant to the resident."

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