Nebraska U-S Congressman Mike Flood has introduced legislation aimed at protecting patients’ access to spiritual care while they’re hospitalized.
Flood says the Protecting Access to Spiritual Treatment and Organized Religion, or PASTOR Act, would require hospitals to allow clergy members to visit patients who request spiritual support during serious illness, a medical crisis or end-of-life care, provided they follow required health and safety measures.
“During the COVID-19 Pandemic, we saw members of the clergy turned away from hospitals even when patients requested their presence,” Flood says. “This bill ensures that never happens again. If signed into law, it would codify CMS policy requiring hospitals to allow members of the clergy to provide spiritual care, so long as they comply with necessary protective measures.”
He says the bill would make permanent existing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance requiring hospitals to accommodate clergy visitation, preventing those protections from being suspended during future public health emergencies or changed by future administrations.
Flood says the PASTOR Act ensures these protections remain in place and cannot be reversed by future administrations, public health emergencies, or regulatory changes.