From WRIC:
All Virginia hospitals with an emergency department will have to have at least one doctor on-site at all times instead of on-call starting in July 2025.
Two identical bills proposing the staffing requirement from Del. Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) and state Sen. Stella G. Pekarsky (D-Fairfax) easily passed out the General Assembly and were signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).
“The bill just requires that there be a treating physician on site for all emergency rooms,” Hope said when the Senate bill was before the House of Delegates on Feb. 20.
Under the state’s current law, hospitals with emergency rooms must have a licensed physician on-call, but not necessarily on the premises, at all times.
Del. Wren Williams (R-Patrick) voiced his concerns over the proposal, specifically about its impact on short-staffed hospitals in rural areas like the one he represents. Williams asked Hope if thought about the “unintended consequences” it could have on rural hospitals.
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