BILL NO. 484
(as introduced)
1st Session, 64th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
3 Charles III, 2024
Private Member's Bill
Hospitals Act
(amended)
Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin
Cumberland North
First Reading: September 12, 2024
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
Explanatory Note
This Bill requires every hospital to have a prayer room and meditation area located on site.
An Act to Amend Chapter 208
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the Hospitals Act
WHEREAS spirituality in serious illness and in health is a vital part of whole-person-centred care;
AND WHEREAS spirituality should be incorporated into healthcare;
AND WHEREAS a whole person's health encompasses spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and social needs;
AND WHEREAS patients and their families need access to a place to pray, meditate and reflect quietly;
AND WHEREAS having a prayer room and meditation area within a hospital is important for well-being and healing of the whole person;
AND WHEREAS faith and healing work hand in hand;
AND WHEREAS a prayer room serves as a non-denominational spiritual place where the act of healing can be ministered to patients, families, visitors, associates, volunteers and physicians and other healthcare professionals;
AND WHEREAS a prayer room is an inclusive place where people, irrespective of their faith, have found a haven, a place of quiet reflection, a place to weep and a place where despair and hope are expressed;
THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 Chapter 208 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Hospitals Act, is amended by adding immediately after Section 8 the following Section:
- 9 Every hospital shall have a prayer room and meditation area located on site and available to patients, families, visitors, associates, volunteers and physicians and other healthcare professionals.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2024 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created September 12, 2024. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
