The following words and terms, when used in these sections, shall 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 owner which
is:
(A) a corporation--means each officer, director, 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 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 which is applying for
a license under the statute. This is the person in whose name the license
will be issued.
(10) Assistance with 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
Texas Civil Statutes, Article 4512j, 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 which are stored at an unlicensed site.
(16) Care plan--
(A) a written plan prepared by the appropriate health care
personnel 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 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) 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.
(21) 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.
(22) Complaint--An allegation against an agency regulated by
or against an employee of an agency regulated by the Texas Department of Human
Services (DHS) that involves a violation(s) of this chapter or the statute.
(23) Controlling person--A person with the ability, acting
alone or in concert 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, landlord, or other business entity
that operates or contracts with others for the operation of an agency;
(ii) any 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;
(iii) any other individual who, because of a personal, familial,
or other relationship with the owner, manager, landlord, tenant, 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 landlord, or other person who does not exercise formal or actual influence
or control over the operation of an agency.
(24) 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.
(25) DHS--The Texas Department of Human Services.
(26) Dialysis treatment record--For home dialysis designation,
a dated and signed written notation by the person providing dialysis treatment
which contains a description of signs and symptoms, machine parameters and
pressure settings, type of dialyzer and dialysate, actual pre- and post-treatment
weight, medications administered as part of the treatment, and the client's
response to treatment.
Cont'd... |