RALEIGH — A bill that would allow long-term care patients to receive visitors, regardless of the pandemic, awaits the signature — or veto — of Gov. Roy Cooper.
House Bill 351, referred to as Clifford’s Law, has been passed by both the state House of Representatives and Senate and was ratified Wednesday before being sent to the governor.
The bill directs the secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services — currently Dr. Mandy Cohen — to consult with licensed nursing home directors and other stakeholders to establish visitation protocols during an emergency that “results in the suspension or curtailment of a facility’s normal visitation policy for any reason.”
Under the bill, patients have the right to designate one pre-approved visitor and one alternate, who would be allowed to visit the patient at least twice a month during a declared emergency.
The bill was named after 63-year-old Clifford Jerniagan.
According to the resolution part of the bill, Jerniagan, who has the mentality of a 3-year-old, has been in a long-term care facility for 53 years.
His mother used to visit him every week for 13 years until her death, and his sister has visited weekly for the past 40 years, according to the text of the bill.
Over the last year, with his sister as his only visitor, Jernigan reportedly lost 25 pounds and a staff member reportedly told his sister that he has been “mourning himself to death.”
Jernigan “is only one of many thousands of residents in nursing homes and combination homes who have gravely suffered because of restricted visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the bill.
Rep. Ben Moss, R-Richmond, was one of the primary sponsors of Clifford’s Law, along with Reps. Jimmy Dixon, R-Onslow, Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, and Donna White, R-Johnston.
White is a registered nurse and aging specialist, according to her legislative page.
“I’m very proud to be a primary sponsor for House Bill 351,” Moss said in a statement. “This bill grants families and caretakers access to their loved ones. Instead of families being forced to interact at a distance with those they love, this bill ensures a minimum number and frequency of visitors to loved ones in long-term care facilities.”
Moss added that the lack of interaction in the past 18 months could lead to “depression, loneliness, and heartbreak.”
“Clifford’s Law ensures that never again will families be forced to watch their loved ones in long-term care facilities suffer the devastating effects of isolation because of lack of access,” Moss said.
Legislative records show the bill passed unanimously in both chambers.
Cooper has 10 days to sign or veto Clifford’s Law. If he does neither, it automatically becomes law.
