Oklahoma City Man Working To Get Bill Passed To Protect Hospital Patients

An Oklahoma City man wants to change the way hospitals in Oklahoma treat families when loved ones are critically ill.

Gerald Brand says his wife Lori spent several days alone before she died during COVID-19 in 2020, and he doesn’t want another family to endure that type of experience..

The bill would be called the Lori Brand Patient Bill of Rights Act, in honor of her.

Brand hopes these rights will help other families get better information.

Lori Brand died of a rare autoimmune disease in April of 2020.

Her husband Gerald says his family was not allowed to visit her during her last days.

"I told them, somebody's got to go in, she doesn't know,” Brand said. “And it got kind of ugly. We sat in the parking lot at the hospital all day trying to get in."

Brand said his family was treated terribly for several days at the hospital. In addition to not being allowed to see her, they couldn’t get any answers as to why her condition was getting worse.

That experience made him want to change the law.

"I want an avenue for people to be able to get answers to questions and to be able to be treated with respect,” Brand said. “And so that's where drafting the Patients’ Bill of Rights started."

The Patients’ Bill of Rights has about 30 rights in it- including the right to not be harassed, to get information in a way that patients can comprehend and get enough information to be able to consent to a procedure.

The bill has the support of State Representative Jon Echols.

“There are just too many painful stories from patients and families to continue to ignore,” Echols said. “This bill recognizes our hospitals and our health care workers are doing the very best they can under very trying circumstances, but it also recognizes that patients are people who have rights that need to be respected.”

Brand hopes people will support the bill, so it gets passed.

"Know that there's always something they can do,” Brand said. “There's always something they can do. Now, people need to start calling the Capitol, call their representative, call their senator, and tell them that they support the bill."

Last year, the bill passed the House but didn’t make it through the Senate.

Brand hopes this upcoming session, it will pass and become law.