Law Named for Alum Spurs New Hospital Wayfinding Regulations

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health released a new set of regulations in compliance with Laura’s Law, named for alumna Laura Levis ’04, who died in 2016 from an asthma attack outside a Somerville, Mass., emergency room because she couldn’t find the entrance.

The regulations were written to ensure that anyone, regardless of state of mind or health condition, can easily find their way into hospital emergency departments across the commonwealth, and will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

Levis’ husband, Peter DeMarco, pushed for Laura’s Law, which was signed by then-Gov. Charlie Baker in January 2021, and served on the working group that recommended the regulations, according to the Boston Globe. He held a press conference at the Massachusetts State House on April 27 to unveil the regulations.

DeMarco, a writer for the Globe, wrote a heartwrenching column about losing Levis in 2018.