| (a) In lieu of demanding payment of an administrative
penalty, the commissioner may allow the person to use, under supervision
of the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS), a portion of the
penalty to ameliorate the violation or to improve services, other
than administrative services, in the nursing facility.
(b) DHS will offer amelioration to a person for a violation
if DHS determines that the violation does not constitute immediate
jeopardy to the health and safety of an institution resident. In this
section, "immediate jeopardy to health and safety" means a situation
in which immediate corrective action is necessary because the facility's
noncompliance with one or more requirements has caused, or is likely
to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a resident.
(c) DHS will not offer amelioration to a person if:
(1) the person has been charged with a violation that
is subject to the right-to-correct, or
(2) DHS determines that the violation constitutes immediate
jeopardy to the health and safety of a resident.
(d) DHS will offer amelioration to a person not later
than the 10th day after the date the person receives from DHS a final
notification of assessment of administrative penalty that is sent
to the person after an informal dispute resolution process but before
an administrative hearing.
(e) A person to whom amelioration has been offered
must file a plan for amelioration not later than the 45th day after
the date the person receives the offer of amelioration from DHS. In
submitting the plan, the person must agree to waive the person's right
to an administrative hearing if DHS approves the plan.
(f) At a minimum, a plan for amelioration must:
(1) propose changes to the management or operation
of the facility that will improve services to or quality of care of
residents,
(2) identify, through measurable outcomes, the ways
in which and the extent to which the proposed changes will improve
services to or quality of care of residents,
(3) establish clear goals to be achieved through the
proposed changes,
(4) establish a timeline for implementing the proposed
changes, and
(5) identify specific actions necessary to implement
the proposed changes.
(g) DHS may require that an amelioration plan propose
changes that would result in conditions that exceed the minimum requirements
for nursing facility licensure.
(h) DHS will approve or deny an amelioration plan not
later than the 45th day after the date DHS receives the plan. On approval
of a person's plan, DHS will deny a pending request for a hearing
submitted by the person.
(i) DHS will not offer amelioration to a person:
(1) more than three times in a two-year period; or
(2) more than one time in a two-year period for the
same or similar violation.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §554.2115 adopted to be effective March 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 1314; amended to be effective June 1, 2002, 27 TexReg 4367; transferred effective January 15, 2021, as published in the Texas Register December 11, 2020, 45 TexReg 8871 |
