CHES Meeting: Peter Demarco, EH&E and Tenet Health present Laura’s Law a national model for safe patient access to emergency care
Going National? Massachusetts’ Laura’s Law for ED-patient access and the 2026 FGI Hospital Facility Code
CHES October Meeting
October 25, 2024, 8:00 – 10:30 AM
East Hartford, CT
Massachusetts has become a national role model for safe patient access to emergency care following the passage and enactment of Laura’s Law this year, the first-ever regulations for emergency department (ED) signage, lighting, wayfinding and the security monitoring of entrances.
Peter DeMarco, a Boston Globe journalist, wrote about his wife’s tragic death in a nationally recognized 2018 Globe article “Losing Laura” in which he described the litany of safety failures that led to Laura Levis’s death at age 34 from an asthma attack outside a locked hospital door. Peter spearheaded the legislation and worked with Massachusetts Department of Public Health officials to create the newly released regulations, aimed at preventing a similar tragedy and eliminating confusion for all patients rushing to the hospital in crisis.
Join this CHES event as Peter shares the story behind this pioneering legislation. He will be accompanied by Darrell Boling, Market Director of Facilities & Support Services, Tenet Health and Kristin Pitocco, Principal Consultant, Environmental Health & Engineering, who implemented all facets of Laura’s Law at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Attendees will learn:
- The inspiring journey that resulted in Laura’s Law.
- Intricacies of Laura’s Law and its potential inclusion in the Facilities Guidelines Institute (FGI) 2026 Facility Code for Hospitals.
- Practical insights to significantly improve wayfinding and hospital campus safety.