{"data":{"id":"us-ar/ark.-code-ann.-20-6-404","jurisdiction":"us-ar","citation":"Ark. Code Ann. § 20-6-404","heading":"Visitation and support for patient with disability","body":"(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. Added by Act 2021, No. 311,§ 1, eff. 3/10/2021.\n\n(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.\n\n(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;\n\n(2) Needs assistance with activities of daily living and the staff are unable to provide or are less effective at providing the assistance;\n\n(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;\nthe ability of a patient with a disability to make medical decisions or understand medical advice;\n\n(2) Needs assistance with activities of daily living and the staff are unable to provide or are less effective at providing the assistance;\n\n(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;\n\n(4) Has behavioral health needs that the support person can address more effectively than the staff; or\n\n(5) Is making a decision to consent to treatment or refuse treatment.\n\n(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.\n\n(1) Execute an advance directive or a physician order for life-sustaining treatment as a condition of receiving treatment or visitation; or\n\n(2) Agree to a do-not-resuscitate or similar order as a condition of receiving treatment or visitation.\n\n(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.\n\n(1) Provide patients with effective communication supports or other reasonable accommodations in accordance with federal and state laws; or\n\n(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.","path":["AR Code","Title 20","Chapter 6","Subchapter 4"],"source_url":"https://oss-data-us.vaquill.ai/v2026.08/us_ar_statutes.parquet","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:41Z","sha256":"a802eb8ced90f124e05c8e128954ee52ad773ed4340528a09ea6508262e2a6e3","source_id":"us-ar","stale":false,"prev":"us-ar/ark.-code-ann.-20-6-403","next":"us-ar/ark.-code-ann.-20-6-405"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}