Raimondo Signs CARE Act Giving Family Caregivers Access to Info

Warwick, RI – Gov. Gina Raimondo signed the CARE Act into law Aug. 12, which will keep family caregivers informed about their loved ones’ medical treatment.

The Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable (CARE) Act (2015-S 0481Aaa), sponsored by Rep. Eileen S. Naughton (D-Dist. 21, Warwick) and Sen. Gayle L. Goldin (D-Dist. 3, Providence), instructs hospitals to keep patient-designated caregivers informed about the patient’s location and how to provide the proper care at home, according to the Legislative Press and Information Bureau.

Under the law, when a patient is admitted to the hospital, he or she will have the opportunity to designate a caregiver, and enter that person’s name and contact information in his or her medical record. The hospital must then notify the caregiver if the patient is being discharged or transferred to another facility.

Before the patient is discharged, the hospital will be required to provide detailed instructions, in the caregiver’s native language, of all the after-care tasks that he or she will be called upon to provide under the patient’s discharge plan. The instructions must include live or recorded demonstrations of the tasks and answers to any questions the caregiver has, the Legislative Press and Information Bureau reported.

The legislation, which was also cosponsored by Sen. Adam J. Satchell (D-Dist. 9, West Warwick), was supported by AARP Rhode Island, which testified in its favor during committee hearings on the bill.

According to AARP Rhode Island, in 2009, 148,000 family caregivers in Rhode Island provided 142 million hours of care estimated at $1.9 billion in unpaid care.