The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. (1) Accessible and flexible services--Services which are delivered in the least intrusive manner possible and are provided in all settings where individuals live, work, and recreate. (2) Administration of medication--The direct application of any medication by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other means to the body of a client. The preparation of medication is part of the administration of medication and is the act or process of making ready a medication for administration, including the calculation of a client's medication dosage; altering the form of the medication by crushing, dissolving, or any other method; reconstitution of an injectable medication; drawing an injectable medication into a syringe; preparing an intravenous admixture; or any other act required to render the medication ready for administration. (3) Administrative support site--A facility or site where an agency performs administrative and other support functions but does not provide direct home health, hospice, or personal assistance services. This site does not require an agency license. (4) Administrator--The person who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of an agency. (5) Advanced practice nurse--A registered nurse who is approved by the Board of Nurse Examiners (BNE) to practice as an advanced practice nurse and who maintains compliance with the applicable rules of the BNE. See BNE's definition of advanced practice nurse in 22 TAC §221.1 (concerning definitions). (6) Affiliate--With respect to an applicant or license holder, which is: (A) a corporation--means each officer, director, and stockholder with direct ownership of at least 5.0%, subsidiary, and parent company; (B) a limited liability company--means each officer, member, and parent company; (C) an individual--means: (i) the individual's spouse; (ii) each partnership and each partner thereof of which the individual or any affiliate of the individual is a partner; and (iii) each corporation in which the individual is an officer, director, or stockholder with a direct ownership or disclosable interest of at least 5.0%. (D) a partnership--means each partner and any parent company; and (E) a group of co-owners under any other business arrangement--means each officer, director, or the equivalent under the specific business arrangement and each parent company. (7) Agency--A home and community support services agency. (8) Alternate delivery site--A facility or site, including a residential unit or an inpatient unit: (A) that is owned or operated by an agency providing hospice services; (B) that is not the hospice's principal place of business. For the purposes of this definition, the hospice's principal place of business is the parent office for the hospice; (C) that is located in the geographical area served by the hospice; and (D) from which the hospice provides hospice services. (9) Applicant--The owner of an agency that is applying for a license under the statute. This is the person in whose name the license will be issued. (10) Assistance with self-administration of medication--Any needed ancillary aid provided to a client in the client's self-administered medication or treatment regimen, such as reminding a client to take a medication at the prescribed time, opening and closing a medication container, pouring a predetermined quantity of liquid to be ingested, returning a medication to the proper storage area, and assisting in reordering medications from a pharmacy. Such ancillary aid includes administration of any medication when the client has the cognitive ability to direct the administration of their medication and would self-administer if not for a functional limitation. (11) Association--A partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity that is not a corporation. (12) Audiologist--A person who is currently licensed under the Occupations Code, Chapter 401, as an audiologist. (13) Bereavement--The process by which a survivor of a deceased person mourns and experiences grief. (14) Bereavement services--Support services offered to a family during bereavement. Family includes a significant other(s). (15) Branch office--A facility or site in the service area of a parent agency from which home health or personal assistance services are delivered or where active client records are maintained. This does not include inactive records that are stored at an unlicensed site. (16) Care plan-- (A) a written plan prepared by the appropriate health care professional for a client of the home and community support services agency; or (B) for home dialysis designation, a written plan developed by the physician, registered nurse, dietitian, and qualified social worker to personalize the care for the client and enable long- and short-term goals to be met. (17) Case conference--A conference among personnel furnishing services to the client to ensure that their efforts are coordinated effectively and support the objectives outlined in the plan of care or care plan. (18) Certified agency--A home and community support services agency, or portion of the agency, that: (A) provides a home health service; and (B) is certified by an official of the Department of Health and Human Services as in compliance with conditions of participation in Social Security Act, Title XVIII (42 United States Code (USC) §1395 et seq.). (19) Certified home health services--Home health services that are provided by a certified agency. (20) CHAP--Community Health Accreditation Program, Inc. An independent, nonprofit accrediting body that publicly certifies that an organization has voluntarily met certain standards for home and community-based health care. (21) Client--An individual receiving home health, hospice, or personal assistance services from a licensed home and community support services agency. This term includes each member of the primary client's family if the member is receiving ongoing services. This term does not include the spouse, significant other, or other family member living with the client who receives a one-time service (e.g., vaccine) if the spouse, significant other, or other family member receives the service in connection with the care of a client. (22) Clinical note--A dated and signed written notation by agency personnel of a contact with a client containing a description of signs and symptoms; treatment and medication given; the client's reaction; other health services provided; and any changes in physical and emotional condition. (23) CMS--Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The federal agency that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with the states to administer Medicaid. (24) Complaint--An allegation against an agency regulated by DADS or against an employee of an agency regulated by DADS that involves a violation of this chapter or the statute. (25) Controlling person--A person with the ability, acting alone or with others, to directly or indirectly influence, direct, or cause the direction of the management, expenditure of money, or policies of an agency or other person. (A) A controlling person includes: (i) a management company or other business entity that operates or contracts with others for the operation of an agency; (ii) a person who is a controlling person of a management company or other business entity that operates an agency or that contracts with another person for the operation of an agency; and (iii) any other individual who, because of a personal, familial, or other relationship with the owner, manager, or provider of an agency, is in a position of actual control or authority with respect to the agency, without regard to whether the individual is formally named as an owner, manager, director, officer, provider, consultant, contractor, or employee of the agency. (B) A controlling person, as described by subparagraph (A)(iii) of this paragraph, does not include an employee, lender, secured creditor, or other person who does not exercise formal or actual influence or control over the operation of an agency. (26) Counselor--An individual qualified under Medicare standards to provide counseling services, including bereavement, dietary, spiritual, and other counseling services to both the client and the family. (27) DADS--Department of Aging and Disability Services. (28) Day--Any reference to a day means a calendar day, unless otherwise specified in the text. A calendar day includes weekends and holidays. Cont'd... |
