Designated Support Persons

If you’re a Ballad Health patient with a disability who needs a support person to help with daily tasks, you may bring with you a Designated Support Person (DSP) of your choosing while you’re receiving healthcare in a hospital, outpatient surgical hospital or hospice facility.

For purposes of DSP appointment, a patient with a disability is someone who, prior to admission, “had a physical sensory, mental, or emotional impairment that substantially limits one or more activities of daily living or has a record of such impairment.” Activities of daily living include personal care tasks like bathing, dressing, eating and toileting. DSPs aren’t considered to be the same as hospital visitors, but they are required to follow any Ballad Health rules or regulations needed to protect the health and safety of patients, staff, and visitors.

If you have questions about specific requirements that apply to DSPs, please ask a Ballad Health medical care facility.