AZ SB1297

Health care facilities cannot prohibit patients or residents from receiving in-person visits with religious counselors during a public health emergency if requested by the patient, resident, or their legally authorized representative.

The Department of Health must develop guidelines for health care facilities to establish religious counselor visitation policies, including minimum health and safety requirements and reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.

Health care facilities may impose restrictions on religious counselor visitation to mitigate communicable disease spread or address a patient's medical condition, with special consideration for end-of-life care patients.

Health care facilities may prohibit religious counselor visitation only if federal law or a federal agency requires the prohibition during a public health emergency.

Defines "during a public health emergency" as the period when the governor has issued a proclamation for a state of emergency, and "religious counselor" as an individual providing pastoral or spiritual counsel in a substantially religious capacity.