| (a) A facility shall provide to each patient, without
regard to the individual's ability to pay, an appropriate medical
screening, examination, and stabilization within the facility's capability,
including ancillary services routinely available to the facility,
to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists, and any
necessary stabilizing treatment.
(b) The organization of emergency services shall be
appropriate to the scope of the services offered. The services shall
be organized under the direction of a qualified physician member of
the medical staff who is the medical director or clinical director.
(c) A facility shall maintain patient medical records
for all emergency patients. The medical records shall contain patient
identification, complaints, name of physician, name of nurse, time
admitted to the emergency suite, treatment, time discharged, and disposition.
(d) A facility shall comply with the following personnel
requirements.
(1) There shall be adequate medical and nursing personnel
qualified in emergency care to meet the written emergency procedures
and needs anticipated by the facility.
(2) As determined by the medical staff, there must
always be at least one person qualified and at least one nurse with
current advanced cardiac life support and pediatric advanced life
support certification on duty and on-site a to initiate immediate
appropriate lifesaving measures.
(3) Qualified personnel shall always be physically
present in the emergency treatment area.
(4) One or more physicians shall always be on-site
during facility hours of operation.
(5) A facility shall maintain schedules, names, and
telephone numbers of all physicians and others on emergency call duty,
including alternates. The facility shall retain the schedules for
at least one year.
(e) Adequate age-appropriate supplies and equipment
shall be available and in readiness for use. Equipment and supplies
shall be available for the administration of intravenous medications
as well as facilities for the control of bleeding and emergency splinting
of fractures. The facility shall periodically test the emergency equipment
according to its policy.
(f) Age-appropriate emergency equipment and supplies
shall include:
(1) emergency call system;
(2) oxygen;
(3) mechanical ventilatory assistance equipment, including
airways, manual breathing bag, and mask;
(4) cardiac defibrillator;
(5) cardiac monitoring equipment;
(6) laryngoscopes and endotracheal tubes;
(7) suction equipment;
(8) emergency drugs and supplies specified by the medical
staff;
(9) stabilization devices for cervical injuries;
(10) blood pressure monitoring equipment; and
(11) pulse oximeter or similar medical device to measure
blood oxygenation.
(g) A facility shall participate in the local Emergency
Medical Service (EMS) system, based on the facility's capabilities
and capacity, and the locale's existing EMS plan and protocols.
(h) A facility shall comply with the following emergency
services requirements for sexual assault survivors.
(1) This subsection does not affect the duty of a facility
to comply with subsection (a) of this section.
(2) The facility shall develop, implement, and enforce
policies and procedures to ensure that after a sexual assault survivor
presents to the facility following a sexual assault, the facility
shall provide the care specified under Texas Health and Safety Code
Chapter 323, Subchapter A (relating to Emergency Services for Survivors
of Sexual Assault).
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