A new law sponsored by State Representative Quang Nguyen will require hospitals to permit daily in-person patient visitation. HB 2633, known as the “Glenn Martin Act,” received overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Ducey on Monday, June 13, 2022.
“Some of the restrictive visitation policies put in place by facilities during the pandemic had consequences far beyond that of protecting patient health,” said Representative Nguyen. “Patients were separated from their families, clergy, and others for long periods. That can be detrimental to a patient’s mental and physical health and is especially devastating in an end-of-life situation.”
The “Glenn Martin Act” is named for a Prescott resident who, in 2021, died in the hospital without being allowed visitation with his family.
The Act requires hospitals to develop a visitation policy that allows a patient to have daily in-person visitation by a designated visitor of the patient’s choice, including the patient’s spouse, parent, or child. The law further requires such policies to ensure that the patient and the patient’s visitors may have physical contact, especially during end-of-life visitation, unless a physician determines based on the patient’s condition that the visitation does not meet health and safety standards or is reasonably likely to harm the patient. If a physician denies visitation with a patient, the patient or their representative will be allowed to request a meeting with the physician and the hospital’s chief medical officer, chief of staff or chief executive officer to receive a review and explanation within 24 hours of the physician’s decision to deny visitation.
Quang Nguyen is a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives serving Legislative District 1 in Yavapai County.
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