PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 988—The No Patient Left Alone Act—on April 6, guaranteeing Floridians the “fundamental right” of in-person visits with family members and other loved ones in health care facilities—even during a crisis.
The patient visitation rights measure requires that in-person visits be allowed in long-term care facilities, hospices, and hospitals, with a stipulation that no health care facility can ask for proof of vaccine status. It also allows visitors to hug their loved ones—something that wasn’t permitted in the past two years.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many terminally ill patients weren’t able to be with their loved ones in end-of-life situations, something that the governor called “fundamentally wrong.”
“I think when you look back over the past two years, one of the most heartbreaking elements of this was shutting people out of being with their loved ones at really critical times in their lives,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Naples, Florida.
The Republican governor said he and his staff have worked “very hard” with hospitals to tell them that—even though they understand that hospital staff wanted to mitigate COVID-19—you “can’t just shut out all these human interactions for people who are in the hospital and have really difficult circumstances.”
Charlene Miranda was one of those patients. Nine months after the birth of her baby, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and was hospitalized “multiple times.” During one of her stays, her condition was described as “borderline critical.”
“I’ve always thought of myself as someone strong-willed—with a passion for life, zest, and a will to live. I can tell you being alone in the hospital without my husband almost made me lose that will to live,” Miranda told the crowd. “I never want that to happen to anyone again. You know you get one life, and it’s important to be able to share those moments—especially when you’re in need of having your loved one with you.”
