Patient visitation.

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Patient Visitation Rights

AB-960 requires general acute care hospitals to allow patients with disabilities and cognitive impairments, including dementia, to have family or friend caregivers visit them at any time if needed, unless it would endanger health and safety or disrupt hospital operations.

What This Bill Does

• Requires general acute care hospitals to let patients with physical, intellectual, developmental, or cognitive impairments (like dementia) have a caregiver visit at any time if needed.
• Allows hospitals to set reasonable restrictions on visits as long as they do not violate the patient's rights.
• Permits hospitals to impose health and safety rules for visitors.
• Does not create new legal responsibilities for hospitals regarding visitor-related injuries or illnesses.

Who It Names or Affects

• Patients with disabilities in general acute care hospitals
• Family members or friends who are caregivers of patients with disabilities

Terms To Know

General Acute Care Hospital

A hospital that provides medical treatment for sudden, severe illnesses and injuries.

Cognitive Impairment

Difficulty with thinking, understanding, or remembering things due to a condition like dementia.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not apply during declared states of emergency by the Governor or local health emergencies.
• The bill does not specify what happens if a hospital violates these rules.

Official Summary Text

AB 960, Garcia.
Patient visitation.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, as defined. Existing law requires a health facility to allow a patient’s domestic partner, the children of the patient’s domestic partner, and the domestic partner of the patient’s parent or child to visit unless no visitors are allowed, the facility reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of a patient, a member of the health facility staff, or other visitor to the health facility, or would significantly disrupt the operations of a facility, or the patient has indicated to the health facility staff that the patient does not want this person to visit. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor.
This bill would require a
general acute care hospital to allow a patient with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, a patient with cognitive impairment, including dementia, and a patient with another disability, as specified, to have a family or friend caregiver with them as needed, including outside standard visiting hours, unless specified conditions are met, including, but not limited to, that the hospital reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of the visitor, a patient, a member of the staff, or other visitor to the hospital, or would significantly disrupt the operations of the hospital. The bill would not prohibit a hospital from otherwise establishing reasonable restrictions upon visitation. The bill would authorize the hospital to impose legitimate health and safety requirements on visitors, as specified. The bill would specify that its provisions do not prohibit
restrictions to patient visitation policies implemented during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, a health emergency declared by the State Public Health Officer, or a local health emergency declared by a local health officer, as specified. The bill would specify that its provisions do not create any new civil or criminal liability, including, but not limited to, liability for any illness, infection, or injury experienced by a patient or visitor on the part of a hospital that complies with its requirements. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act
for a specified reason.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF