Medical care facilities; designated support persons for persons with disabilities.

Medical care facilities; persons with disabilities; designated support persons. Requires every medical care facility, as defined in the bill, to allow a person with a disability who requires assistance as a result of such disability to be accompanied by a designated support person who will provide support and assistance necessary due to the specifics of the person’s disability to the person with a disability during an admission to such medical care facility. The bill (i) defines "person with a disability" and "designated support person"; (ii) provides that a designated support person shall not be subject to restrictions on visitation adopted by the medical care facility but may be required to comply with reasonable requirements of the medical care facility adopted to protect the health and safety of the person with a disability, the designated support person, and staff and other patients of and visitors to the medical care facility; and (iii) authorizes a medical care facility to restrict a designated support person's access to specified areas and movement on the premises of the medical care facility when such restrictions are determined by the medical care facility to be reasonably necessary to protect the health and safety of the person with a disability, the designated support person, and staff and other patients of and visitors to the medical care facility. The bill requires every medical care facility to adopt protocols to inform patients of their right to be accompanied by a designated support person, and to develop and make available to persons with disabilities written information regarding the right of a person with a disability to be accompanied by a designated support person and policies related thereto. The bill contains an emergency clause and directs the Board of Health to adopt emergency regulations within 280 days of the bill's enactment.