Legislation Introduced in Delaware Would Allow Limited In-Person Hospital Visits During Emergencies, Health Crises
Legislation introduced this week would require hospitals to allow limited in-person visitation with patients within designated parameters. What is called “The No Patient Left Alone Act” It is intended to mitigate unintended negative impacts on patients and their families during a State of Emergency, pandemic, or infectious disease outbreak. Hospitals could not prohibit in-person visitation by a religious counselor to a seriously ill or dying patient, providing that the counselor complied with all visitation mandates established pursuant to this act. A visit by a religious counselor would not be counted against any daily visitation limit set by the hospital. A Committee Hearing takes place within twelve legislative days.
Additional Information from legis.delaware.gov
Hospitals would be able to: restrict the number of visitors a patient could receive daily; require visitors to undergo and pass a specified health screening; and use personal protective equipment while visiting. Hospitals must make personal protective equipment required available for visitors for purchase. Entry could be denied to visitors not complying with the requirements, that failed their health screenings, or who were found to have a communicable disease. Attending physicians would retain the authority to deny in-person visitation if they deemed their patients would be at risk for contracting an infectious disease or if they believed visitation posed a serious community health risk. Such determinations would be valid for up to seven days and subject to renewal. Hospitals could deny visitation if a federal order, law, or regulation required it. If a prospective hospital visitor were denied in-person visitation with a patient, the hospital would be required, to its best efforts, to develop alternate visitation protocols that would allow visitation to the greatest extent safely possible. This could include, but not be limited to, streaming audio and video.
