| (a) The following words and terms, when used in this
section, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
(1) Public health emergency--A state of disaster or
local disaster declared under Texas Government Code Chapter 418 or
a public health disaster as defined by Texas Health and Safety Code
(HSC) §81.003.
(2) Qualifying official disaster order--An order, proclamation,
or other instrument issued by the Governor, another official of this
state, or the governing body or an official of a political subdivision
of this state declaring a disaster that has infectious disease as
the basis for the declared disaster.
(3) Qualifying period of disaster--The period of time
the area in which a hospital is located is declared to be a disaster
area by a qualifying official disaster order.
(4) Religious counselor--An individual acting substantially
in a pastoral or religious capacity to provide spiritual counsel to
other individuals.
(b) In accordance with HSC §260C.002 (relating
to In-Person Visitation with Religious Counselor), except as provided
by subsections (c) and (d) of this section, a hospital may not prohibit
a patient from receiving in-person visitation with a religious counselor
during a public health emergency upon the request of the patient or,
if the patient is incapacitated, upon the request of the patient's
legally authorized representative, including a family member of the
patient.
(c) A hospital may prohibit in-person visitation with
a religious counselor during a public health emergency if federal
law or a federal agency requires the hospital to prohibit in-person
visitation during that period.
(d) To the extent that hospital establishes policies
and procedures for in-person religious counselor visitation during
a public health emergency, these policies and procedures shall comply
with the following:
(1) The policies and procedures shall establish minimum
health and safety requirements for in-person visitation with religious
counselors consistent with:
(A) state, local, and federal directives and guidance
regarding the public health emergency;
(B) public health emergency and disaster preparedness
plans; and
(C) other policies adopted by the hospital, including
the hospital's general visitation policy and infection control policy.
(2) The policies and procedures shall address considerations
for patients who are receiving end-of-life care.
(3) The policies and procedures may contain reasonable
time, place, and manner restrictions on in-person visitation with
religious counselors to mitigate the spread of a communicable disease
or address a patient's medical condition.
(4) The policies and procedures may condition in-person
visitation with religious counselors on the counselor's compliance
with guidelines, policies, and procedures established under this subsection.
(e) In accordance with HSC §241.012 (relating
to In-Person Hospital Visitation During Period of Disaster), a hospital
may not, during a qualifying period of disaster prohibit in-person
visitation with a patient receiving care or treatment at the hospital
unless federal law or a federal agency requires the hospital to prohibit
in-person visitation during that period.
(f) Notwithstanding subsection (e) of this section,
a hospital may, during a qualifying period of disaster:
(1) restrict the number of visitors a patient receiving
care or treatment at the hospital may receive to not fewer than one,
except for religious counselors visiting under subsection (b) of this
section;
(2) require a visitor, including a religious counselor
visiting under subsection (b) of this section, to:
(A) complete a health screening before entering the
hospital; and
(B) wear personal protective equipment at all times
while visiting a patient at the hospital; and
(3) deny entry to or remove from the hospital's premises
a visitor, including a religious counselor visiting under subsection
(b) of this section, who fails or refuses to:
(A) submit to or meet the requirements of a health
screening administered by the hospital; or
(B) wear personal protective equipment that meets the
hospital's infection control and safety requirements in the manner
prescribed by the hospital.
(g) A health screening administered by a hospital under
this section must be conducted in a manner that, at a minimum, complies
with:
(1) hospital policy; and
(2) if applicable, guidance or directives issued by
the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services, or another agency with regulatory authority
over the hospital.
(h) This section does not require a hospital to:
(1) provide a specific type of personal protective
equipment to a visitor, including a religious counselor visiting under
subsection (b) of this section; or
(2) except for a religious counselor visiting under
subsection (b) of this section, allow in-person visitation with a
patient receiving care or treatment at the hospital if an attending
physician determines and documents in the patient's medical record
that in-person visitation with that patient may lead to the transmission
of an infectious agent that poses a serious community health risk.
(i) A determination made by an attending physician
under subsection (h) of this section is valid for not more than five
days after the date the determination is made unless renewed by an
attending physician.
(j) If a visitor to a hospital is denied in-person
visitation with a patient receiving care or treatment at a hospital
because of a determination made by an attending physician under subsection
(h) of this section, the hospital shall:
(1) provide each day a written or oral update of the
patient's condition to the visitor if the visitor:
(A) is authorized by the patient to receive relevant
health information regarding the patient;
(B) has authority to receive the patient's health information
under an advance directive or medical power of attorney; or
(C) is otherwise the patient's surrogate decision-maker
regarding the patient's health care needs under hospital policy and
other applicable law; and
(2) notify the person who receives the daily update
required under paragraph (1) of this subsection of the estimated date
and time at which the patient will be discharged from the hospital.
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