Hospitals should have to allow patients one visitor, even in pandemic, NC Senate says
As the coronavirus pandemic hit North Carolina in March, hospitals clamped down on their patients’ visitors to prevent the spread of the virus.
Visits to loved ones’ hospital rooms increasingly went virtual, The News & Observer reported.
On Friday, North Carolina state senators called for easing restrictions. The North Carolina Senate passed the “No Patient Left Alone Act,” which would allow hospital patients receiving treatment unrelated to the coronavirus to be allowed one visitor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill guarantees hospital patients could have at least one visitor during disasters and emergencies. If signed into law, Senate Bill 730 would bar hospitals from requiring a patient to waive visitation rights. Hospitals would be allowed to test visitors, however, and restrict them from entry if they don’t pass an infectious disease screening.
Sen. Joyce Krawiec, a Forsyth County Republican and one of the bill sponsors, said that many hospitals are already allowing one visitor.
“Some hospitals did it right. I fail to see how this would be different,” Krawiec said. She said if she were in the same position of having a loved one dying in a hospital alone, she would go inside unless physically stopped.
“It is time for us to make certain that no one dies alone,” Krawiec said.
Virtual visits not enough, senators say
Sen. Warren Daniel, a Morganton Republican, said that Zoom calls and electronic communications between patients and loved ones are “simply not enough.”
Daniel said that while COVID-19 has caused “great uncertainty and anxiety across the state,” there are unintended consequences of restrictions, too.
“These patients not diagnosed with COVID-19 have been forced to be alone,” Daniel said. He said that patients need someone in the hospital with them for support and to advocate for them.
The bill passed easily, 40-4.
Sen. Erica Smith, a Henrico Democrat, said that while she had some reservations related to public health, she supported the bill because she doesn’t want anyone to have to die alone in the hospital.
The bill now goes to the House.
DHHS concerned about spreading coronavirus
In a presentation to members of the House Health Committee, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said she had concerns with the bill.
“We want to make sure we’re not bringing a virus and spreading it into a health care setting,” Cohen said.
DHHS spokesperson Amy Adams Ellis said via email on Friday that DHHS is “concerned about this bill as it is currently written related to infection control in health care and hospital settings. The North Carolina Healthcare Association is working with the bill sponsors to ensure that the bill is in compliance with federal laws, and we are looking forward to seeing updated language soon.”
An update to the bill could come in the form of an amendment in the House, which then would need to go back to the Senate for agreement.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 2:02 PM.
.jpg)