JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for a “Patients’ Bill of Rights” that would keep loved ones from being denied visiting their sick relatives in medical facilities.
These measures are in response to restrictions put in place during the heart of the pandemic—when medical facilities like hospitals and nursing homes went into lockdown because of COVID-19 and implemented very strict visitation policies. At times, families were not allowed to visit sick and dying loved ones.
“That had huge negative consequences for so many families throughout our country,” DeSantis said.
It also led to proposing the “No Patient Left Alone Act,” which would require medical providers to allow visitors in situations like end-of-life, emotional distress, or need for support. The bill cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services Wednesday.
DeSantis said there’s nothing wrong with enforcing protocols for protection but said loved ones being separated is unacceptable.
“COVID cannot be used as an excuse to deny patients basic rights and one of the rights, I think, of being a patient is that you have your loved ones present when you’re dealing with these serious medical issues,” DeSantis said.
It’s not clear what else the Patients’ Bill of Rights would include, but the governor did hint that a package with protections is expected to develop in the next few weeks.
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Jacksonville woman Mary Daniel is a driving force behind “essential caregiver” bills in Florida and on the federal level. Daniel’s husband lives in a long-term care facility after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Daniel couldn’t visit him at times because of COVID-19 restrictions, so she got a job as a dishwasher at the same facility.
That got the governor’s attention.
“Let’s not add any additional emotional or any type of damage to folks in kind of a vain attempt to say that we are stopping COVID,” DeSantis said.
Right now, it’s not clear what else the Patients’ Bill of Rights would include, but the governor did hint that a package with protections is expected to develop in the next few weeks.