Relating to health care facilities; to add Section 22-21-437 to the Code of Alabama 1975; to require health care facilities to adopt certain visitation policies; to provide that patients have a right to certain visitation; to allow patients to designate an essential caregiver and to guarantee that caregiver certain visitation rights; to prohibit a health care facility from adopting a visitation policy that is more stringent than certain employee policies; to prohibit a health care facility from requiring visitors to show proof of vaccination or from prohibiting consensual physical contact between visitors and patients; to provide for the circumstances in which patients may not be denied visitors who are not essential caregivers; to require health care facilities to provide visitation policies to the Department of Public Health; to require the Department of Public Health to develop a mechanism for complaints; to provide certain immunity from liability in certain circumstances; and to repeal Sections 22-21-430 through 22-21-436, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to hospital visitation during a public health emergency.
Summary
Health care facilities, patient right to visitors and essential caregiver, provided; adoption of certain visitation standards, required; submission of visitation policies to Department of Public Health, required for licensure; certain immunity from liability, provided
Bill status
introduced
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2023
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Mar 21, 2023
Last action Mar 21, 2023
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
0
Mar 21, 2023
Introduced
Introduced and Referred (Health)
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Debbie Wood
RRepublican
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