Many families have experienced the pain of not being able to be with loved ones at hospitals and nursing homes during the pandemic. Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg hopes his bill will help.
Sonnenberg’s bill for hospital visitations takes step forward
The effort to allow hospital visitations during a pandemic took a large leap forward this week when the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, on a 3-2 vote, greenlighted Senate Bill 53.
Sponsored by Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, the bill has been on hold for more than three weeks while Sonnenberg and Senate Democrats worked out an amendment to address concerns raised by opponents.
SB 53 states that a patient admitted to a hospital for inpatient care, or a resident of a nursing care assisted living facility, can have at least one visitor of their choosing. Those facilities must have written policies regarding visitation rights of patients, which must also state “any clinically necessary or reasonable restriction or limitation that the facility may need to place on visitation.”
It also prohibits health care facilities from blocking visitation if the sole reason is to reduce the risk of spreading a pandemic disease, but the facility can also impose restrictions to reduce that risk.
The deciding vote on Feb. 24 was from committee chair Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, who herself experienced the pain of being denied the opportunity to be at the side of a hospitalized loved one during the pandemic.
The bill, now headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee, was amended to add a disclaimer that states the visitor must be respectful of the hospital or health care facility staff and recognize that visitation is a privilege, Sonnenberg explained.
The amendment states that “verbal and physical assaults on health-care workers and other employees of a health-care facility would not be tolerated.” That kind of behavior is already illegal, Sonnenberg said. He called the bill the most important one he’s carried in his 16 years. “It’s about families, being an advocate for patients, and the data shows that patients do better with that contact. It’s important that we at least make a step forward in allowing families to be together” when someone is sick.
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