In the final hours of Colorado’s 2020 legislative session, lawmakers are pushing to pass a law allowing hospitalized COVID-19 patients to have at least one visitor each.
It’s in response to the fact that in Colorado, as elsewhere, the more than 1,500 people who have died while infected with the novel coronavirus have in many cases spent their waning hours apart from family and friends due to the infectious nature of the virus.
“This bill is about humanity and compassion,” said Rep. Tim Geitner, R-Colorado Springs, who’s sponsoring the proposal. “The purpose of the bill is to ensure that loved ones can hold each other’s hands at the most critical time of need.”
The bill, HB-1425, has bipartisan support in both chambers, with Rep. Edie Hooton, D-Boulder, joining with Geitner in the House, and Sen. Jim Smallwood, R-Parker, partnering with Sen. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins, in the Senate.
“We are deeply grateful for the protective measures hospitals have had to take to prevent the transmission of coronavirus to patients and staff while caring for Coloradans,” Hooton said. “We’re encouraging Colorado’s hospital administrators to find ways to include visitors in the care of their patients, especially at the end of life, while still following infection prevention policies and best practices.”
But the Colorado Hospital Association quickly announced its opposition to this bill, arguing in a letter shared by a 9News reporter that the policy change isn’t necessary.
“The vast majority of Colorado hospitals have exceptions to these restrictions that allow for one visitor at the ‘beginning of life’ and ‘end of life,'” the letter states.
The bill does not apply solely to coronavirus patients.
“Many patients not diagnosed with COVID-19 have been forced to be alone during their treatment for serious conditions, traumas, illnesses, heart attacks, and routine and emergency surgeries; some have been forced to be alone for the entire course of their treatment,” the bill reads.
Colorado’s 2020 legislative session is likely to end by Saturday, which means that the bill will have to move quickly if it is to become law. That Capitol leaders allowed it to be introduced so late in the session is a strong indication that they intend to pass it.
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June 11, 2020 at 11:54PM
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