Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33)
Imagine fighting for your life in a hospital room, scared and in pain – yet completely alone. Imagine an elderly parent, confused and vulnerable, reaching for a hand that isn’t there. Imagine a dying loved one, their final moments spent in solitude, denied the comfort of family. This happens every single day in Pennsylvania.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, thousands of patients across our state have suffered through illness, treatments and even death in complete isolation, stripped of the most basic human comfort: the presence of a loved one. We cannot allow this to continue.
That is why I am introducing the No Patient Left Alone Act – a compassionate, commonsense bill to ensure that no Pennsylvanian faces medical treatment or end-of-life care without the support of family, friends or an advocate.
Isolation takes a devastating toll on patients. The medical community widely acknowledges that emotional support is just as critical as medical treatment. Yet, countless patients have been denied this basic right due to outdated policies, bureaucratic indifference and hospital regulations that fail to recognize the human cost of isolation.
Patients who are isolated are more likely to experience severe anxiety, depression and emotional distress.
Studies show that elderly patients left alone in hospitals experience faster physical and cognitive decline.
Individuals with disabilities often struggle to communicate their needs when they are denied their caregivers or advocates.
Hospice and end-of-life patients who die without loved ones present leave behind grieving families with unresolved trauma.
Hospitals should be places of healing. However, for far too many, they have become places of loneliness, despair and unnecessary suffering.
With passage of the No Patient Left Alone Act, patients would be guaranteed the right to a support person during hospitalization, treatments and end-of-life care. The legislation would prioritize access for intensive care unit patients, the elderly, disabled individuals and those in critical or long-term care.
Hospital and care facilities would be required to implement safe, reasonable visitation policies that balance patient needs with public health protocols. No patient would ever have to take their final breath alone; families deserve the right to be present, say goodbye and offer comfort in a loved one’s final moments.
We are not alone in this fight. Florida, Texas and Tennessee have passed similar laws to ensure that no patient is abandoned by their government or health care system. Pennsylvania must act now.
For too long, hospitals have placed policies over people, red tape over relationships and rules over basic human decency. The No Patient Left Alone Act is more than legislation; it’s a moral obligation.
Every Pennsylvanian deserves dignity, compassion and human connection for their loved ones. No one should suffer alone. No one should die alone. No patient should ever be left alone again.
Sen. Doug Mastriano represents the 33rd Senatorial District, covering all of Adams and Franklin counties.