Under the law, the Department of Public Health will implement statewide standards requiring hospitals to improve lighting, signage, wayfinding and monitoring, aiming to ensure that all patients in crisis are able to access emergency rooms without issue.
The tragic 2016 death of a woman in Somerville, Massachusetts, is now sparking change at hospitals across the state, making it easier for people to quickly find and get inside emergency rooms.
Laura Levis died nearly seven years ago. She was having an asthma attack outside of Somerville Hospital and couldn't figure out how to get inside for the life-saving help she needed.
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Her widow, Pete DeMarco, has lobbied for change since his wife's death.
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"It’s incredibly tragic, and something I’ve had to live with for a long time now,” he said. "Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong. Signs were confusing. Lighting was bad. There was no one at the security desk to help her. A call went to the emergency department that someone’s outside having an asthma attack. No one went outside to look for her.”
Hospitals in Massachusetts will now have to implement regulations ensuring better access for people seeking emergency care under Laura’s Law, approved two years ago by legislators because of her husband’s efforts.
"His story really showed for all of us how vulnerable we are,” Rep. Christine Barber said.
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Finalized this month, the new rules require proper signs, audio-video intercoms at all prominent hospital doors, patient doors must be brightly lit with 24-hour surveillance and emergency departments must have a separate address for GPS if the location is not the same as the main hospital.
”When you’re not feeling well, when you’re panicked, when you’re with a family member who’s not feeling well, you’re not able to look around a massive campus, you really need the clearest direction that you can to get care,” Barber said.
These are some of the first regulations of their kind in the U.S., thanks to DeMarco, who says it’s hard to celebrate given the death of his wife.
But DeMarco believes these first-in-the-nation regulations will save lives. As many as 3 million people visit Massachusetts emergency rooms at 75 acute care hospitals each year.
”Hospitals are complex places. They're confusing places no matter where you are," DeMarco said. "I hope every state in New England especially looks at what we’ve done here.”
Hospitals in the Bay State will have until Jan. 1, 2024, to put these new requirements in place.
