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Senator proposes bill to guarantee at‑least‑one designated visitor for nursing‑home residents during emergencies; committee to refine language
Summary
Senator Nutt introduced an amendment to the nursing‑home residents' bill of rights to allow a resident to designate one person who may visit during a declared public‑health emergency; the committee and witnesses supported the idea but asked staff to expand or clarify the designated‑visitor language and visitation protocols.
Senator Nutt introduced a proposed amendment to the South Carolina long‑term care residents' bill of rights (cited in the hearing as S.C. Code §44‑81‑40). The proposed language reads in part: "Each resident may designate 1 person who is permitted to visit the resident in the event that the access to the facility is limited or prohibited due to a declared state of emergency arising from a disaster or a public health emergency. The resident shall provide the person's name relationship to the resident and the contact information. The designated person may be allowed to regularly visit the resident during the time that the access to the facility is limited or prohibited. A resident may change the designated person 1 time during any calendar year." The senator said the change was prompted by accounts of families who were barred from seeing loved ones during COVID and who later found their relatives in worsened condition.
Why it matters: during the pandemic, many families said they were unable to check on or visit relatives in nursing homes or assisted‑living facilities; the proposal aims to preserve a named visitor’s access during future emergencies while the facility continues infection‑control protocols.
Testimony and suggested edits
Sarah Doctor Greenwald, identified as a licensed long‑term care administrator and LLR board member who operates a facility, told the committee she supported the bill but asked to broaden the language. "I think it should be more than 1," she said, recommending a prioritized or alternate list of approved visitors rather than a single designated person and asking that the bill not limit the resident’s ability to change that designation more than once per calendar year.
Committee members and other senators echoed the practical concerns: administrators requested that emergency visitation protocols include symptom screening and testing rules, temperature checks, hand hygiene, and designated visiting hours to balance resident access with infection control and staff capacity. Senator Nutt and committee members asked staff to draft language that would allow multiple named alternates (one at a time to visit) and to clarify facility protocols for screening symptomatic visitors.
Action and next step
Committee members agreed—without objection—to carry the measure over so staff and the sponsor could refine the draft language. The chair asked the sponsor and witnesses to work with committee staff on a revised bill that would allow a prioritized list of visitors, set reasonable facility‑level procedures (pre‑visit screening, visiting hours), and preserve resident protections.
Ending
The bill was carried over for drafting; the sponsor and staff will circulate proposed language before the next subcommittee session so the committee can consider the refined amendment.
