PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 988–The No Patient Left Alone Act—on April 6, guaranteeing Floridians the “fundamental right” of in-person visits with family members and other loved ones in health care facilities—even in a crisis. The patient visitation rights bill requires that in-person visits are allowed in long-term care facilities, hospices and hospitals, with a stipulation that no health care facility can ask for proof of vaccine status. It also allows visitors to hug their loved ones—something that was not permitted the past two years. During the pandemic, many terminally ill patients were not able to be with their loved ones in end-of-life situations, something the governor called “fundamentally wrong.” “I think when you look back over the past two years, one of the most heartbreaking elements of this was shutting people out of being with their loved ones at really critical times in their lives,” DeSantis said …