Gov. Kay Ivey signs bill to protect patients right to receive visitors
Governor Kay Ivey held a formal bill signing ceremony for legislation on Thursday, strengthening patients’ rights by allowing their family members to be present in a hospital room. Senate Bill 113 (SB113) was sponsored by State Senator Garlan Gudger. It was carried in the House of Representatives by Representative Debbie Wood. “I was also proud to place my signature on SB 113, allowing hospital and nursing home patients the right to visit with loved ones,” Gov. Ivey said on Twitter. “Certainly, allowing visitation is the right thing to do. Once again, I commend the Legislature on passing these good bills.” “I’m thankful that this bill has corrected that wrong and that we have worked together as a team,” Sen. Gudger said. “Everyone on this stage, Senate and House, passed [this bill] almost unanimously through both chambers, and the process at the State Government worked this time. I’m thankful that our heavenly father has given us tools and attributes to use, and those tools in the state government are the process of getting bills passed that are good bills we can all stand behind.” “We heard an outcry from the public of people who wanted to be with their loved one while they were in a hospital, nursing home, or any kind of healthcare facility,” says Rep. Wood. Wood’s mother died from COVID in 2021, and the family was not allowed into the facility. “What haunted me was the fact my mother may have thought that we abandoned her because we were not with her,” Wood said. “When she needed us the most, we were cut off. That’s what this bill is about.” During the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised that hospitals and nursing homes limit visitation to prevent the spread of the coronavirus strain that was causing the illness. Despite those precautions, 21,133 Alabamians died of the illness. Most died alone while their loved ones were forced to remain outside. Thousands of Alabamians who died of things other than COVID also died in isolation in hospitals and nursing homes – in many cases, the first time they had ever been separated from all their friends and family. One of those who perished was Harold Sachs – the longtime chief of staff of the Alabama Republican Party. SB113 was named the Harold Sachs and Anne Roberts Act. State Sen. Dan Roberts lost his beloved wife, Anne, to the pandemic. He and Gudger set about writing SB113 after an earlier 2021 version of the legislation proved to be ineffective. Roberts and his sons were barred from seeing Anne in 2022, much like the Sachs family was barred from visiting Harold during his final weeks on this Earth in 2020. “This has been a team effort,” said Sen. Roberts. “The Sachs family first kicked off this idea, but it was the result of an outcry that we heard all over the state. Then it was our turn, the Roberts family. We said goodbye to my beloved wife of 42 and a half years, and that was it. All of us were denied the opportunity to be with our loved ones in their final days. Thank you for the support we’ve had from all who are on this stage, but also from others across the state.” Emee Baldwin is the granddaughter of the late Harold Sachs and the founder of PoppysPurpose.org, the grassroots organization that energized people around the state to get behind these bills. “I’m so excited that this bill has passed. [During COVID] Our nurses and doctors did great,” Baldwin said. “They did everything that they could, but sometimes you just need that familiar face in the room with you. You need that familiar touch to be there with you. You need someone there to pray with you, to lay hands over you, just to encourage you and have a smiling face. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to get this bill passed. It’s truly going to change patients’ lives here in Alabama.” Baldwin now serves as a neonatal intensive care nurse in Birmingham. The Harold Sachs and Anne Roberts Act is set to take effect immediately. Tuesday will be day 16 of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
