Photo: Madison Rogers for WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Hospitals in Massachusetts have received a new set of rules to help patients navigate emergency departments in accordance with "Laura's Law."
Laura's Law was passed in memory of Laura Beth Levis, a Somerville resident and editor at Harvard University who died in September 2016. Levis collapsed and later died from an asthma attack on the doorstep of a Somerville emergency department that she was unable to get inside. The hospital did not have a sign labeled "EMERGENCY" for Levis to follow, so she mistakenly went to the wrong door which was locked.
The law has created a new set of safe patient access regulations for emergency departments in the state to follow. This includes more signs pointing patients in the right direction, stronger lighting along the paths they take, and audio/video intercoms connecting them to a live operator should they become lost.
"From the moment you step on the property of the hospital, you’ll see a sign directing you to the emergency department, and when you reach that sign, there has to be another one in sight taking you all the way," Laura's widower Peter DeMarco said at a press conference Wednesday.
DeMarco worked with Senator Pat Jehlen and Representative Christine Barber to propose and pass Laura's Law, and participated in the creation of the new regulations as part of a Massachusetts Department of Public Health advisory workgroup.
"I hope that no one else dies like Laura, ever," DeMarco said.
The DPH said hospitals must comply with the new rules by Jan. 1, 2024.
WBZ's Madison Rogers (@MadisonWBZ) reports.
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