TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida health care facilities have a new set of rules for restricting visitation thanks to a bill approved Wednesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Senate Bill 988, which sponsors named the “No Patient Left Alone Act,” was largely a response to the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in which the DeSantis administration severely limited visitation at Florida’s long-term care facilities and hospitals.
The state put those restrictions in place in 2020 in the hope of controlling the spread of COVID-19. As the months of isolation for residents and patients added up and complaints from loved ones mounted, DeSantis began relaxing those rules.
