(Sept. 10, 2020) Florida hospitals are beginning to decrease their restrictions on visitor policies. For several local hospitals, this finally includes allowances for SUPPORT PERSONS! The updated policy at Tampa General Hospital explicitly states that a support person may accompany adult patients. That policy can be seen here: https://www.tgh.org/covid#updatesThe updated policy for Bay Care hospitals is *intended* to make allowances for support persons, per hospital administration, however, their policy is vague and states that exceptions will be evaluated on a “case-by-case” basis. If you have to go to Bay Care hospitals, please bring the Disability Rights Florida self-advocating guide with you as back up. If you encounter resistance to letting a support person into the hospital, ask them to contact the AOD (Administrator on Duty) or Security to confirm your right to a support person under ADA laws (and also let Debbie know!) Bay Care’s updated policy is here: https://baycare.org/…/baycare-resumes-limited… The link to the Disability Rights Florida document is here: https://drive.google.com/…/1wI…/view… I continue to be in close contact with Disability Rights Florida who is addressing the issue directly with Bay Care on our behalf. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Debbie at 727.249.1953
Bonnie Walter
M.S., CCC-SLP
Program Assistant: Bonnie graduated from the University of Essex, England in September 2023 with a master’s degree in Speech and Language Therapy. She completed her clinical fellowship at Colchester Hospital in England, where she worked on the acute wards. In this role, she gained experience working with adults with acquired communication and swallowing disorders. Prior to this, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 2016. During graduate school, she completed two placements working with intensive adult aphasia groups. She joined the Voices of Hope for Aphasia team in 2025 and looks forward to working with the community at both the St. Pete and Dunedin locations.