| (a) A nursing facility's visitation policies and procedures
may change during a public health emergency or disaster in response
to directives issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS), HHSC, or DSHS. Nursing facility (NF) visitation policies and
procedures may not be more restrictive than directives issued by CMS,
HHSC, DSHS, executive orders, or local orders.
(b) A NF must permit a religious counselor to visit
a resident at the request of the resident.
(c) A NF may not prohibit a resident from receiving
in-person visitation with a religious counselor during a public health
emergency on request from the resident, resident's legally authorized
representative (LAR), or resident's family member unless a federal
law or a federal agency requires the facility to prohibit in-person
visitation during a public health emergency.
(d) A NF must adopt policies and procedures for in-person
visitation with a religious counselor during a public health emergency
or disaster. These policies and procedures:
(1) must comply with the minimum health and safety
requirements for in-person visitation with religious counselors developed
by HHSC;
(2) may include reasonable time, place, and manner
restrictions on in-person visitation with religious counselors to:
(A) mitigate the spread of a communicable disease;
and
(B) address the resident's medical condition;
(3) must include special consideration for residents
receiving end-of-life care; and
(4) may require religious counselors to comply with
a NF's guidelines, policies, and procedures for in-person visitation
with a religious counselor.
(e) A NF must permit end-of-life visits and immediately
communicate any changes in a resident's condition that would qualify
the resident for end-of-life visits to the resident representative.
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