Health and Safety Code section 1261.1
(a)
(1)A general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, shall allow a patient with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, a patient with cognitive impairment, including dementia, and a patient with another disability, as necessary to allow the patient to fully and equally benefit from any goods, services, or facilities offered by the hospital, to have a family or friend caregiver with them as needed, including outside standard visiting hours, unless any of the following conditions apply:(A)
The hospital reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of the visitor, a patient, a member of the staff, or other visitor to the hospital, or would significantly disrupt the operations of the hospital.(B)
This section does not require a hospital to permit a visitor who is violent or potentially violent to enter the facility or visit a patient.(C)
The delivery of medical care would be impeded by the presence of the family or friend caregiver.(2)
It is the intent of the Legislature that this subdivision ensures liberal visitation rights for patients with disabilities or cognitive impairment while at the same time recognizing hospitals’ obligations to provide a safe environment for patients, staff, and visitors.(b)
This section does not prohibit a hospital from otherwise establishing reasonable restrictions upon visitation, including age of visitors, supervision of minor visitors, and number of visitors.(c)
The hospital may impose legitimate health and safety requirements on visitors, including, but not limited to, requiring masking, excluding sick visitors, limiting access to certain areas of the facility, and prohibiting the visitor from bringing in prohibited items.(d)
If circumstances require restricted visitor access, the hospital shall allow visitation by family members or caregivers to the greatest extent possible to allow the patient to fully and equally benefit from any goods, services, or facilities offered by the hospital while maintaining patient, visitor, and staff health and safety.(e)
This section does not prohibit restrictions to visitation policies implemented during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, a health emergency declared by the State Public Health Officer, or a local health emergency declared by a local health officer to limit contact with patients or staff at a general acute care hospital in order to prevent or limit the spread of a contagious, infectious, or communicable disease.(f)
This section does not create any new civil or criminal liability, including, but not limited to, liability for any illness, infection, or injury experienced by a patient or visitor on the part of a hospital that complies with its requirements.
Source:
Section 1261.1, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=1261.1. (updated Jan. 1, 2026; accessed Dec. 8, 2025).
