Arkansas § 20-6-404 Visitation and support for patient with disability

Arkansas Statutes

§ 20-6-404 — Visitation and support for patient with disability

Arkansas § 20-6-404

Title20

This text of Arkansas § 20-6-404 (Visitation and support for patient with disability) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-6-404 (2026).

Text

(a)Upon the request of a patient with a disability, a hospital, office of a healthcare professional, or hospice facility licensed in this state shall allow a patient with a disability to designate at least three (3) support persons and shall allow at least one (1) support person to be present with the patient with a disability at all times in the emergency department and during the stay of a patient with a disability in the hospital, office of a healthcare professional, or hospice facility if necessary to facilitate the care of the patient with a disability, including without limitation when the patient with a disability:

(1)Has a cognitive or mental health disability that affects the ability of a patient with a disability to make medical decisions or understand medical advice;

(2)Needs

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(a) Upon the request of a patient with a disability, a hospital, office of a healthcare professional, or hospice facility licensed in this state shall allow a patient with a disability to designate at least three (3) support persons and shall allow at least one (1) support person to be present with the patient with a disability at all times in the emergency department and during the stay of a patient with a disability in the hospital, office of a healthcare professional, or hospice facility if necessary to facilitate the care of the patient with a disability, including without limitation when the patient with a disability: (1) Has a cognitive or mental health disability that affects the ability of a patient with a disability to make medical decisions or understand medical advice; (2) Needs assistance with activities of daily living and the staff are unable to provide or are less effective at providing the assistance; (3) Is deaf, hard of hearing, or has other communication barriers and requires the assistance of a support person to ensure effective communication with staff; (4) Has behavioral health needs that the support person can address more effectively than the staff; or (5) Is making a decision to consent to treatment or refuse treatment. (b) A healthcare professional or healthcare facility shall not discriminate against a patient with a disability by requiring the patient with a disability to: (1) Execute an advance directive or a physician order for life-sustaining treatment as a condition of receiving treatment or visitation; or (2) Agree to a do-not-resuscitate or similar order as a condition of receiving treatment or visitation. (c) This section does not affect any obligation of a healthcare professional or healthcare facility to: (1) Provide patients with effective communication supports or other reasonable accommodations in accordance with federal and state laws; or (2) Make exceptions to the visitor policy of a healthcare facility as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., as existing on January 1, 2021.