March 27, 2023 Group Watch: Senate Passes Healthcare Facility Visitors’ Bill
The Alabama Senate unanimously passed legislation to protect visitation requirements for healthcare facilities. The bill will ensure residents, clients or patients of a healthcare facility are afforded the right to visit with anyone during visiting hours. It would also give essential caregivers a minimum of two hours a day for visitation. The bill goes on to require that any safety-related policies or procedures may not be more stringent than those established for the healthcare facility’s staff, and it prohibits a healthcare facility from requiring visitors to show proof of vaccination or from prohibiting consensual physical contact between a visitor and a resident, client or patient. The legislation will require healthcare facilities to provide visitation policies and procedures to the Department of Public Health when applying for licensing, renewal, or change of ownership.
