Hospital Patient Long-term Care Resident Visit Rights

The bill specifies that a patient admitted to a hospital for inpatient care and a resident of a nursing care facility or assisted living residence may have at least one visitor of the patient's or resident's choosing during the stay or residency. A hospital, a nursing care facility, and an assisted living residence (collectively referred to as "health-care facility") must have written policies and procedures regarding the visitation rights of patients and residents, including policies and procedures setting forth any clinically necessary or reasonable restriction or limitation that the health-care facility may need to place on patient and resident visitation rights and the reasons for the restriction or limitation. The bill prohibits a health-care facility from adopting policies or procedures that prohibit visitation of a patient or resident if the sole reason for the prohibition is to reduce the risk of transmission of a pandemic disease, but a health-care facility may impose specified requirements and limitations for visitors to reduce the risk of transmission of the pandemic disease. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)