Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 20 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE (§§ 20-2-101 — 20-86-113) › Subtitle 2 - HEALTH AND SAFETY (§§ 20-6-101 — 20-38-113) › Chapter 6 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 20-6-101 — 20-6-413) › Subchapter 4 - NO PATIENT LEFT ALONE ACT (§§ 20-6-401 — 20-6-413) › Section 20-6-407 - Long-term care facility visitation

(a)
(1)
A long-term care facility shall allow compassionate care visitation as needed by the resident to alleviate physical or mental distress.
(2)
Personal contact in person with a resident is permitted during a compassionate care visitation if the long-term care facility protocol is followed.
(3)
A long-term care facility shall adopt a protocol for personal contact in person that adheres to appropriate infection prevention guidelines disseminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
(b)
A long-term care facility shall work with residents, families, caregivers, resident representatives, and medical providers, and may include the ombudsman program under §
20-10-602
to identify the need for compassionate care visitation, using a person-centered approach that takes the residents' requests into account.
(c)
(1)
A long-term care facility shall ensure that decisions regarding end-of-life care are made by a resident with capacity or by the representative of a resident without capacity, as provided in the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act, §
20-6-101
et seq.
(2)
Within the scope of visitation provided by this section, a long-term care facility shall permit a resident making decisions regarding end-of-life care to be accompanied by a family member, guardian, or support person designated by the resident, unless the resident declines or requests to have the discussion outside of the presence of a family member, guardian, or support person.
(d)
(1)
Compassionate care visitation shall continue even if the infection rate in the county in which the long-term care facility is located is high.
(2)
However, a long-term care facility shall identify one (1) or more ways to allow a compassionate care visitation, including personal contact, that minimize the risk of infection to the resident and other residents in the long-term care facility.
(3)
(A)
In a long-term care facility with no new onset of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in the last fourteen (14) days and in counties with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) positivity rates that are less than ten percent (10%), a long-term care facility shall accommodate and support indoor visitation for reasons beyond compassionate care visitation.
(B)
A long-term care facility may limit:
(i)
The number of visitors per resident at one (1) time based on the size of the building and physical space; and
(ii)
Movement in the long-term care facility, such as requiring the visitor to go directly to the resident's room or designated visitation area.
(C)
Visits for residents who share a room shall not be conducted in a resident's room, unless the health status of the resident prevents leaving the room.
(e)
Healthcare workers who are not employees of the long-term care facility but provide direct care to a resident in the long-term care facility, such as hospice workers, emergency medical services personnel, dialysis technicians, laboratory technicians, radiology technicians, and social workers, shall be permitted into the long-term care facility if proper infection control protocols are followed.
(f)
A long-term care facility that fails to facilitate compassionate care visitation without adequate justification related to clinical necessity or resident safety may be in violation of
42 C.F.R. § 483.10(f)(4)
, as it existed on January 1, 2021.
(g)
To the extent permitted by state and federal law, the appropriate state agency or licensing board shall investigate and may penalize a long-term care facility's failure to comply with this section.
Added by Act 2021, No. 311,§ 1, eff. 3/10/2021.