Senate Bill No.
386–Committee on Human
Resources and Facilities
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to public health; expanding the rights of patients of certain health care facilities to certain visitation privileges; providing that a person may designate certain other persons to make anatomical gifts or order the burial or cremation of the human remains of the person upon death; revising related provisions governing the priority of persons authorized to make decisions concerning anatomical gifts, burial and cremation of human remains on behalf of a decedent; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 449 of NRS is hereby amended by adding
thereto a new section to read as follows:
1. If, as a result of the incapacitation of the patient or his
inability to communicate, a patient of a medical facility, facility
for the dependent or home for individual residential care who is
18 years of age or older is unable to inform the staff of the facility
or home of the persons whom the patient authorizes to visit the
patient at the facility or home, the facility or home shall allow
visitation rights to any person designated by the patient in a letter,
form or other document authorizing visitation executed in
accordance with subsection 2. The visitation rights required by
this subsection must be:
(a) Provided in accordance with the visitation policies of the
facility or home; and
(b) The same visitation rights that are provided to a member of
the patient’s family who is legally related to the patient.
2. A person 18 years of age or older wishing to designate a
person for the purposes of establishing visitation rights in a
medical facility, facility for the dependent or home for individual
residential care may execute a letter, form or other document
authorizing visitation in substantially the following form:
(Date)..................................
I, ..............................., (patient who is designating another
person as having visitation rights of the patient) do hereby
designate .................................. (person who is being designated as
having visitation rights of the patient) as having the right to visit
me in a medical facility, facility for the dependent or home for
individual residential care. I hereby instruct all staff of a medical
facility, facility for the dependent or home for individual
residential care in which I am a patient to admit
......................................(person who is being designated as having
visitation rights of the patient) to my room and afford him or her
the same visitation rights as are provided to members of my family
who are legally related to me during my time as a patient.
........................................................
(Signed)
Sec. 2. NRS 449.730 is hereby amended to read as follows:
449.730 1. Every medical facility, facility for the dependent
and home for individual residential care shall inform each patient or
his legal representative, upon his admission to the facility or home,
of the patient’s rights as listed in NRS 449.700, 449.710 and
449.720 [.] , and section 1 of this act.
2. In addition to the requirements of subsection 1, if a person
with a disability is a patient at a facility, as that term is defined in
NRS 449.771, the facility shall inform the patient of his rights
pursuant to NRS 449.765 to 449.786, inclusive.
Sec. 3. Chapter 451 of NRS is hereby amended by adding
thereto a new section to read as follows:
1. The following persons, in the following order of priority,
may order the burial of human remains of a deceased person:
(a) A person designated as the person with authority to order
the burial of the human remains of the decedent in a legally valid
document or in an affidavit executed in accordance with
subsection 5;
(b) The spouse of the decedent;
(c) An adult son or daughter of the decedent;
(d) Either parent of the decedent;
(e) An adult brother or sister of the decedent;
(f) A grandparent of the decedent;
(g) A guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of
death; and
(h) A person who held the primary domicile of the decedent in
joint tenancy with the decedent at the time of death.
2. If the deceased person was an indigent or other person for
whom the final disposition of the decedent’s remains is a
responsibility of a county or the State, the appropriate public
officer may order the burial of the remains and provide for the
respectful disposition of the remains.
3. If the deceased person donated his body for scientific
research or, before his death, a medical facility was made
responsible for his final disposition, a representative of the
scientific institution or medical facility may order the burial of his
remains.
4. A living person may order the burial of human remains
removed from his body or the burial of his body after his death. In
the latter case, any person acting pursuant to his instructions is
an authorized agent.
5. A person 18 years of age or older wishing to authorize
another person to order the burial of his human remains in the
event of his death may execute an affidavit before a notary public
in substantially the following form:
State of Nevada}
}ss.
County of........... }
(Date)..................................
I, ..................................., (person authorizing another person to
order the burial of his human remains in the event of his death)
do hereby designate ................................... (person who is being
authorized to order the burial of the human remains of a person
in the event of his death) to order the burial of my human
remains upon my death.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ........
day of the month of ......... of the year.......
............................................................................
(Notary Public)
Sec. 4. NRS 451.005 is hereby amended to read as follows:
451.005 As used in NRS 451.010 to 451.470, inclusive, and
section 3 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires,
“human remains” or “remains” means the body of a deceased
person, and includes the body in any stage of decomposition and
the cremated remains of a body.
Sec. 5. NRS 451.557 is hereby amended to read as follows:
451.557 1. Any member of the following classes of persons,
in the order of the priority listed, may make an anatomical gift of all
or a part of the decedent’s body for an authorized purpose, unless
the decedent, at the time of death, has made an unrevoked refusal to
make that anatomical gift:
(a) A person designated as the person with authority to make
an anatomical gift of all or part of the body of the decedent in a
legally valid document or in an affidavit executed in accordance
with subsection 6;
(b) The spouse of the decedent;
[(b)] (c) An adult son or daughter of the decedent;
[(c)] (d) Either parent of the decedent;
[(d)] (e) An adult brother or sister of the decedent;
[(e)] (f) A grandparent of the decedent; [and
(f)] (g) A guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of
death [.] ; and
(h) A person who held the primary domicile of the decedent in
joint tenancy with the decedent at the time of death.
The legal procedure for authorization must be defined and
established by the Committee on Anatomical Dissection established
by the University and Community College System of Nevada.
2. An anatomical gift may not be made by a person listed in
subsection 1 if:
(a) A person in a prior class is available at the time of death to
make an anatomical gift;
(b) The person proposing to make an anatomical gift knows of a
refusal or contrary indications by the decedent; or
(c) The person proposing to make an anatomical gift knows of
an objection to making an anatomical gift by a member of the
person’s class or a prior class.
3. An anatomical gift by a person authorized under subsection
1 must be made by:
(a) A document of gift signed by him; or
(b) His telegraphic, recorded telephonic or other recorded
message, or other form of communication from him that is
contemporaneously reduced to writing and signed by the recipient.
4. An anatomical gift by a person authorized under subsection
1 may be revoked by any member of the same or a prior class if,
before procedures have begun for the removal of a part from the
body of the decedent, the physician, technician or enucleator
removing the part knows of the revocation.
5. A failure to make an anatomical gift under subsection 1 is
not an objection to the making of an anatomical gift.
6. A person 18 years of age or older wishing to authorize
another person to make an anatomical gift of all or part of his
body in the event of his death may execute an affidavit before a
notary public in substantially the following form:
State of Nevada}
}ss.
County of........... }
(Date)...................................
I, ..................................., (person authorizing another person to
make an anatomical gift of his body in the event of his death) do
hereby designate ................................... (person who is being
authorized to make an anatomical gift of the body of another
person in the event of his death) to make an anatomical gift of all
or part of my body in the event of my death for authorized
purposes and in accordance with the procedure for authorization
defined and established by the Committee on Anatomical
Dissection established by the University and Community College
System of Nevada.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ........
day of the month of ......... of the year.......
.............................................................................
(Notary Public)
Sec. 6. NRS 451.650 is hereby amended to read as follows:
451.650 1. The following persons, in the following order of
priority, may order the cremation of human remains of a deceased
person:
(a) [The surviving spouse;
(b) A majority of the adult children;
(c) The living parents jointly; or
(d) The decedent’s guardian or personal representative.] A
person designated as the person with authority to order the
cremation of the human remains of the decedent in a legally valid
document or in an affidavit executed in accordance with
subsection 5;
(b) The spouse of the decedent;
(c) An adult son or daughter of the decedent;
(d) Either parent of the decedent;
(e) An adult brother or sister of the decedent;
(f) A grandparent of the decedent;
(g) A guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of
death; and
(h) A person who held the primary domicile of the decedent in
joint tenancy with the decedent at the time of death.
2. If the deceased person was an indigent or other person for
the final disposition of whose remains a county or the State is
responsible, the appropriate public officer may order cremation of
the remains and provide for the respectful disposition of the
cremated remains.
3. If the deceased person donated his body for scientific
research or, before his death, a medical facility was made
responsible for his final disposition, a representative of the
scientific institution or medical facility may order cremation of his
remains.
4. A living person may order the cremation of human remains
removed from his body or the cremation of his body after his death.
In the latter case, any person acting pursuant to his instructions is
an authorized agent.
5. A person 18 years of age or older wishing to give authority
to another person to order the cremation of his human remains
upon his death may execute an affidavit before a notary public in
substantially the following form:
State of Nevada}
}ss.
County of........... }
(Date).......................................
I, ......................................, (person authorizing another person
to order the cremation of his human remains upon his death) do
hereby designate ..................................(person who is being
authorized to order the cremation of the human remains of
another person in the event of his death) to order the cremation of
my human remains upon my death.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ........
day of the month of ......... of the year.......
..................................................................................
(Notary Public)
Sec. 7. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2003.
20~~~~~03