SECTION 1. Chapter 17 of the General Laws is hereby amended by the adding the following section:-
Section 21. The department of public health shall promulgate regulations requiring all hospitals in the commonwealth to meet minimum criteria and standards that ensure safe, timely and accessible patient access to hospital emergency rooms or departments at all times. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to: (i) criteria and standards related to: (A) legible indoor and outdoor signage; (B) indoor and outdoor lighting; (C) best-practice wayfinding signage; and (D) security and monitoring of all emergency department access points; (ii) minimum requirements for proper security monitoring of any prominent hospital door or entrance that is locked at night and through which a patient might try to enter; and (iii) any other safety feature that the department deems necessary to ensure daytime or nighttime entry to an emergency room or department.
In promulgating the regulations, the department shall: (i) ensure that all patients, including patients at all levels of physical, sensory and brain-based function, have access required under this section; and (ii) consider the most-current published industry standards and best practices, including, but not limited to, standards under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, local codes, regulations, including regulations promulgated by the architectural access board, and any guidance or resources from the Facilities Guidelines Institute and the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety.
SECTION 2. The department of public health shall convene a working group to report on patient access to hospital emergency rooms or departments and to make recommendations to inform the regulations required under section 21 of chapter 17 of the General Laws. The working group shall submit its report, along with its recommendations, to the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on public health and the department not more than 6 months after the termination of the governor’s March 10, 2020 declaration of a state of emergency.
SECTION 3. The department of public health shall promulgate the regulations required by section 21 of chapter 17 of the General Laws not more than 1 year after the termination of the governor’s March 10, 2020 declaration of a state of emergency. The regulations shall be informed by the recommendations of the working group established under section 2.