S678

An Act concerning in-person patient visitation, supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.2003, c.246.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) This act shall be known and may be cited as the “New Jersey No Patient Left Alone Act.”

2. (New section) As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

"Community residence for the developmentally disabled" means any community residential facility housing up to 16 persons with developmental disabilities, which provides food, shelter, and personal guidance for persons with developmental disabilities who require assistance, temporarily, or permanently, in order to live independently in the community. Such residences shall include, but shall not be limited to, group homes, halfway houses, supervised apartment living arrangements, and hostels.

“Facility” means a community residence for the developmentally disabled, hospice, long-term care facility, or veterans' home.

“Hospice” means a hospice care program licensed pursuant to P.L.1997, c.78 (C.26:2H-79 et seq.).

"Long-term care facility" means a nursing home, assisted living residence, comprehensive personal care home, residential health care facility, skilled or intermediate care nursing facility, or dementia care home licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

"Veterans' home" means the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home - Menlo Park, the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home - Vineland, and the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home - Paramus.

3. (New section) a. Within 30 days after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), each facility shall, as a condition of licensure, establish visitation policies and procedures, which policies and procedures shall:

(1) establish infection control and education policies for facility visitors;

(2) establish screening, personal protective equipment, and other infection control protocols for facility visitors;

(3) establish the rules for length of visits and the number of visitors, which rules shall meet or exceed the visitation standards established in subsection b. of this section;

(4) designate a person to ensure that staff adheres to the policies and procedures;

(5) not be more stringent than the policies and procedures that apply to facility staff;

(6) forbid staff from asking visitors to disclose vaccination status or requiring visitors to submit proof of any vaccination or immunization; and

(6) allow consensual physical contact between visitors and residents, clients, or patients.

b. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any declared public health emergency or state of emergency, law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, a facility resident, client, or patient shall be permitted to receive visitors who are domestic partners, essential caregivers, family members, friends, guardians, persons licensed to provide financial, legal, or tax services, or religious or spiritual advisors. A facility resident, client, or patient shall be permitted in-person visitation for at least two hours on a daily basis.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any declared public health emergency or state of emergency, law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, a resident, client, or patient of a health care facility licensed by the Department of Health, who is terminally ill or otherwise near death, shall be permitted to receive visitors who are domestic partners, essential caregivers, family members, friends, guardians, persons licensed to provide financial, legal, or tax services, or religious or spiritual advisors. The resident, client, or patient shall be permitted unlimited in-person visitation on a daily basis.

c. A facility may require a visitor to agree in writing to the facility’s policies and procedures as a condition of visitation. A facility may suspend the in-person visitation privileges of a visitor if the visitor violates the facility’s policies and procedures.

d. Within 24 hours of establishing the policies and procedures, as required pursuant to this section, a facility shall make the policies and procedures easily accessible on the homepage of the facility’s Internet website.

e. The Departments of Health and Human Services shall dedicate a stand-alone page on the Internet website of each department that explains the visitation provisions under this section and provides a link to report violations of this section.

4. Section 13 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:2H-12.22) is amended to read as follows:

13. a. A health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall allow a patient's domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3), the children of the patient's domestic partner, and the domestic partner of the patient's parent or child to visit, unless one of the following conditions is met:

(1) No visitors are allowed;

(2) The health care facility reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of a patient, a member of the staff of the facility, or another visitor to the facility, or would significantly disrupt the operations of the facility; or

(3) The patient has indicated to health care facility staff that the patient does not want the person to visit.

b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section shall not be construed as prohibiting a health care facility from otherwise establishing reasonable restrictions upon visitations, including restrictions upon the hours of visitation and number of visitors.

c. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a community residence for the developmentally disabled, hospice, long-term care facility, or veterans' home.

d. As used in this section:

"Community residence for the developmentally disabled" means any community residential facility housing up to 16 persons with developmental disabilities, which provides food, shelter, and personal guidance for persons with developmental disabilities who require assistance, temporarily, or permanently, in order to live independently in the community. Such residences shall include, but not be limited to, group homes, halfway houses, supervised apartment living arrangements, and hostels.

“Hospice” means a hospice care program licensed pursuant to P.L.1997, c.78 (C.26:2H-79 et seq.).

"Veterans' home" means the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home - Menlo Park, the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home - Vineland, and the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home - Paramus.

(cf: P.L.2003, c.246, s.13)

5. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the “New Jersey No Patient Left Alone Act.”

The bill provides that, within 30 days of the bill’s effective date, each facility is to establish visitation policies and procedures, as a condition of licensure. Under the bill, “facility” means a community residence for the developmentally disabled, hospice, long-term care facility, or veterans' home, as each of those terms are defined in the bill.

The policies and procedures are to: (1) establish infection control and education policies for facility visitors, including screening, personal protective equipment, and other infection control protocols for facility visitors; (2) establish rules for the length of visits and the number of visitors, which rules are to meet or exceed the visitation standards established in the bill; (3) designate a person to ensure that staff adheres to the policies and procedures; (4) not be more stringent than the policies and procedures that apply to facility staff; (5) forbid staff from asking visitors to disclose vaccination status or requiring visitors to submit proof of any vaccination or immunization; and (6) allow consensual physical contact between visitors and residents, clients, or patients.

Under the bill, a facility resident, client, or patient is to be permitted to receive visitors who are domestic partners, essential caregivers, family members, friends, guardians, persons licensed to provide financial, legal, or tax services, or religious or spiritual advisors. A facility resident, client, or patient is to be permitted in-person visitation for at least two hours on a daily basis. In addition, a resident, client, or patient of a health care facility licensed by the Department of Health, who is terminally ill or otherwise near death, is to be permitted to receive visitors who are domestic partners, essential caregivers, family members, friends, guardians, persons licensed to provide financial, legal, or tax services, or religious or spiritual advisors. The resident, client, or patient is to be permitted unlimited in-person visitation on a daily basis. The provisions outlined in this paragraph are to apply irrespective of any declared public health emergency or state of emergency, law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary.

A facility may require a visitor to agree in writing to the facility’s policies and procedures as a condition of visitation. A facility may suspend the in-person visitation privileges of a visitor if the visitor violates the facility’s policies and procedures.

Within 24 hours of establishing the policies and procedures, a facility is to make the policies and procedures easily accessible on the homepage of the facility’s Internet website. The Departments of Health and Human Services are to dedicate a stand-alone page on the Internet website of each department that explains the visitation requirements provided for in this bill.

Finally, the bill amends N.J.S.A.26:2H-12.22, which pertains to the visitation of a domestic partner who is a patient in a health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), to ensure that the provisions of this statute do not affect the provisions of this bill.