CMS to hospital inspectors: Remember equal visitation rights

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http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20110907/NEWS/309079971/cms-to-hospital-inspectors-remember-equal-visitation-rights#

The CMS on Wednesday offered guidance to state survey agencies—which inspect hospitals on behalf of the CMS—regarding equal visitation and representation rights in hospitals.

Last November, the CMS issued a final rule for all hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid that was intended to protect a hospital patient's right to choose his or her visitors during a hospital stay. The rule also enforced a patient's right to designate a person of his or her choosing—including a same-sex partner—to make medical decisions on the patient's behalf if he or she became incapacitated. In a letter to state survey agencies, the CMS urged the agencies to be aware of those rights in their hospital inspections.

"Couples take a vow to be with each other in sickness and health, and it is unacceptable that, in the past, some same-sex partners were denied the right to visit their loved ones in times of need," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a news release. "We are releasing guidance for enforcing new rules that give all patients, including those with same-sex partners, the right to choose who can visit them in the hospital as well as enhancing existing guidance regarding the right to choose who will help make medical decisions on their behalf."

Separately, HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration announced a $248,000 grant for the Fenway Institute, which is part of Boston-based Fenway Health, to create a National Training and Technical Assistance Center to help community health centers improve the health of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender populations. The institute operates the country's first community-based HIV research program, which has been conducting epidemiological research since 1985.