Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law that outlines visitation rights for hospital patients, ABC affiliate WKRN reported April 29.
Under the law, which will go into effect July 1, a person with a patient's medical power of attorney has the right to visit that patient in the hospital at least once a day for at least one hour. The bill also allows patients to refuse that person's visit.
"We're going to stand for Tennessee families," state Rep. Kip Capley, who sponsored the bill, told the news outlet. "The hospital has to make a reasonable effort during normal visitation hours for you to be able to see your loved one to make medical decisions for you while you're in the hospital setting."
Critics of the law said the requirement for medical power of attorney is a major setback as most adults do not have the legal paperwork in place at the time a patient is hospitalized, The Tennessee Conservative reported April 26.