Visitation of a long-term care facility resident or hospital patient during a communicable disease outbreak

The bill allows an assisted living facility, nursing home, or hospital to deny visitation with a resident or patient by a member of the clergy or an essential visitor if 1) the member of the clergy or essential visitor refuses to comply with health and safety policies; 2) it is unknown if the member of the clergy or essential visitor is contagious with a communicable disease and adequate precautions are not available to prevent them from infecting others; 3) the resident or patient is known or suspected to be contagious with a communicable disease and adequate precautions are not available to prevent them from infecting others; or 4) the resident or patient does not wish to visit with the member of the clergy or essential visitor. In addition, the bill allows a hospital to deny visitation with a patient by a member of the clergy or an essential visitor if the hospital’s policy requires the patient, or the patient’s guardian or agent under an activated power of attorney for health care, to consent to the visitation and that consent has not been given or if the patient is in the custody of a law enforcement officer and the law enforcement officer refuses to allow access to the patient for visitation.

If the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid issues more restrictive visitation guidance, an assisted living facility, nursing home, or hospital may comply with that guidance instead of the visitation requirements under the bill. The bill allows an individual to file a complaint with the Department of Health Services against an assisted living facility, nursing home, or hospital that fails to comply with the bill. In addition, under the bill, a health care professional, assisted living facility, nursing home, or hospital or an employee, agent, or contractor of an assisted living facility, nursing home, or hospital is immune from civil or criminal liability for any act or omission while allowing visitation pursuant to the requirements of the bill.