HOUSE BILL NO. 2275 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE LEWIS.
5084H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal section 191.1400, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to compassionate care visits in health care facilities, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 191.1400, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu 2 thereof, to be known as section 191.1400, to read as follows: 191.1400. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Compassionate 2 Care Visitation Act" and the "No Patient Left Alone Act". 3 2. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean: 4 (1) "Compassionate care visitor", a patient's or resident's friend, family member, or 5 other person requested by the patient or resident for the purpose of a compassionate care visit; 6 (2) "Compassionate care visit", a visit necessary to meet the physical or mental needs 7 of the patient or resident, including, but not limited to: 8 (a) For end-of-life situations, including making decisions regarding end-of-life care 9 during in-person contact or communication with the compassionate care visitor; 10 (b) For adjustment support or communication support, including, but not limited to, 11 assistance with hearing and speaking; 12 (c) For emotional support; 13 (d) For physical support after eating or drinking issues, including weight loss or 14 dehydration; or 15 (e) For social support; 16 (3) "Health care facility", a hospital, as defined in section 197.020, a long-term care 17 facility licensed under chapter 198, or a hospice facility certified under chapter 197.
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 2275 2
18 3. A health care facility shall allow a patient or resident, or his or her legal guardian, 19 to permit at least two compassionate care visitors simultaneously to have in-person contact 20 with the patient or resident during visiting hours. Compassionate care visitation hours shall 21 be no less than six hours daily and shall include evenings, weekends, and holidays. Health 22 care facilities shall be permitted to place additional restrictions on children under the age of 23 fourteen who are compassionate care visitors. 24 4. Health care facilities shall have a visitation policy that allows, at a minimum: 25 (1) Twenty-four-hour attendance by a compassionate care visitor when reasonably 26 appropriate; 27 (2) A compassionate care visitor to leave and return within the hours of the visitation 28 policy. A patient or resident may receive multiple compassionate care visitors during 29 visitation hours, subject to the provisions of subsection 3 of this section; and 30 (3) Parents with custody or unsupervised visitation rights, legal guardians, and other 31 persons standing in loco parentis to be physically present with a minor child while the child 32 receives care in the facility. 33 5. This section shall not affect any obligation of a health care facility to: 34 (1) Provide patients or residents with effective communication supports or other 35 reasonable accommodations in accordance with federal and state laws to assist in remote 36 personal contact; and 37 (2) Comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 38 U.S.C. Section 12101 et seq. 39 6. A health care facility may limit: 40 (1) The number of visitors per patient or resident at one time based on the size of the 41 building and physical space; 42 (2) Movement of visitors within the health care facility, including restricting access to 43 operating rooms, isolation rooms or units, behavioral health units, or other commonly 44 restricted areas; and 45 (3) Access of any person to a patient or resident: 46 (a) At the request of the patient or resident, or the legal guardian of such; 47 (b) At the request of a law enforcement agency for a person in custody; 48 (c) Due to a court order; 49 (d) To prevent substantial disruption to the care of a patient or resident or the 50 operation of the facility; 51 (e) During the administration of emergency care in critical situations; 52 (f) If the person has measurable signs and symptoms of a transmissible infection; 53 except that, the health care facility shall allow access through telephone or other means of 54 telecommunication that ensure the protection of the patient or resident; HB 2275 3
55 (g) If the health care facility has reasonable cause to suspect the person of being a 56 danger or otherwise contrary to the health or welfare of the patient or resident, other patients 57 or residents, or facility staff; or 58 (h) If, in the clinical judgment of the patient's or resident's attending physician, the 59 presence of visitors would be medically or therapeutically contraindicated to the health or life 60 of the patient or resident, and the attending physician attests to such in the patient's or 61 resident's chart. 62 7. Nothing in this section shall limit a health care facility from limiting or redirecting 63 visitors of a patient or resident in a shared room to ensure the health and safety of the patients 64 or residents in the shared room. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit health 65 care facilities from adopting reasonable safety or security restrictions or other requirements 66 for visitors. 67 8. Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive or change long-term care 68 facility residents' rights under sections 198.088 and 198.090. 69 9. No later than January 1, 2023, the department of health and senior services shall 70 develop informational materials for patients, residents, and their legal guardians regarding the 71 provisions of this section. A health care facility shall make these informational materials 72 accessible upon admission or registration and on the primary website of the health care 73 facility. 74 10. (1) A compassionate care visitor of a patient or resident of a health care facility 75 may report any violation of the provisions of this section by a health care facility to the 76 department of health and senior services. The department shall begin investigating any such 77 complaint filed under this subsection within thirty-six hours of receipt of the complaint. The 78 purpose of such investigation shall be to ensure compliance with the provisions of this 79 section, and any such investigation shall otherwise comply with the complaint processes 80 established by section 197.080 for a hospital, section 197.268 for a hospice facility, and 81 section 198.532 for a long-term care facility. 82 (2) Any health care facility that violates the provisions of this section shall be 83 liable to the state for a civil penalty of one thousand dollars for each day of such 84 violation. The attorney general shall, upon the request of the department of health and 85 senior services, bring an action in a circuit court of competent jurisdiction to recover the 86 civil penalty. The department of health and senior services may also bring such an 87 action itself. The civil action may be brought in the circuit court of Cole County or, at 88 the option of the department of health and senior services, in another county that has 89 venue of an action against the health care facility under other provisions of law. Any 90 order by a circuit court in such an action assessing civil penalties against a health care 91 facility shall include an award of attorney's fees to the state. All civil penalties collected HB 2275 4
92 under this subdivision shall be paid into the state school moneys fund established under 93 section 166.051 as provided by law for other fines and penalties. 94 11. No health care facility shall be held liable for damages in an action involving a 95 liability claim against the facility arising from the compliance with the provisions of this 96 section. The immunity described in this subsection shall not apply to any act or omission by a 97 facility, its employees, or its contractors that constitutes recklessness or willful misconduct 98 and shall be provided in addition to, and shall in no way limit, any other immunity protections 99 that may apply in state or federal law. 100 12. The provisions of this section shall not be terminated, suspended, or waived 101 except by a declaration of emergency under chapter 44, during which time the provisions of 102 sections 191.2290 and 630.202 shall apply. ✔
Statutes affected: