Jefferson City — The Senate unanimously approved a law to ensure visitor access to hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities on Tuesday.
Bill HB2116 requires medical facilities to allow patients to have at least two “caring care visitors.”
Under the law, visitors are required to comply with certain facility policies regarding protective measures such as mask requirements.
With the passage of the bill 34-0, it returns home.
After many facilities in the state have set restrictions on visitors to delay the spread of COVID-19, lawmakers are trying to influence the policies of medical visitors. As a result of these policies, some lawmakers claimed that patients suffered or were forced to die alone.
“It was unacceptable to the human condition,” said R-Joplin, Senator Bill White, Bill Handler. White’s spouse is a doctor, and he referred to her experience through discussions.
“They are caregivers,” White said of the patient’s friends and family. “They comb their hair, take a bath, and help with their meals on someone’s last day.”
Supporters said the role of visitors to assist patients is even more important given the staff shortages that plague many medical facilities.
Several members of the Senate’s conservative caucuses have been against White’s bill, including from Senator Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, who prevents medical facilities from requesting specific vaccines from visitors. I tried to work on a fix.
Moon argued that demanding vaccines and other “invasive medical procedures” violated individual liberty.
“When you come in and infect me or someone else, your freedom ends,” White replied.
Successful was another modification from Moon to change the name back to the name “Do not leave the patient alone”.
When the law was on the committee, concerns arose about the safety of medical facility staff and others when the state regulated visitor policies. Witnesses representing the Missouri Hospital Association, the Missouri Support and Lifestyle Association, the Missouri Healthcare Association, and the St. Roox Health System all opposed the bill.
However, the Senate version gives the facility more control over visitor policies based on available space and other factors.
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