The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Accessible and flexible services--Services that are delivered in the least intrusive manner possible and are provided in all settings where individuals live, work, and recreate.
  (2) Accreditation organization--The Joint Commission, Community Health Accreditation Partner, Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc., or another accrediting entity approved by HHSC that demonstrates it meets or exceeds applicable rule requirements of this chapter. The entity reviews HCSSAs for compliance with standards for accreditation by the organization that apply to a HCSSA's licensed category of service.
  (3) 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.
  (4) 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.
  (5) Administrator--The person who is responsible for implementing and supervising the administrative polices and operations of a home and community support services agency and for administratively supervising the provision of all services to agency clients on a day-to-day basis.
  (6) ADS--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 parent agency;
    (C) that is located in the geographical area served by the hospice; and
    (D) from which the hospice provides hospice services.
  (7) Advanced practice nurse--An advanced practice registered nurse.
  (8) Advanced practice registered nurse--A person licensed by the Texas Board of Nursing as an advanced practice registered nurse. The term is synonymous with "advanced practice nurse."
  (9) Advisory committee--A committee, board, commission, council, conference, panel, task force, or other similar group, or any subcommittee or other subgroup, established for the purpose of obtaining advice or recommendations on issues or policies that are within the scope of a person's responsibility.
  (10) Affiliate--With respect to an applicant or license holder that is:
    (A) a corporation--means each officer, director, and stockholder with direct ownership of at least 5.0 percent, 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 or disclosable interest of at least 5.0 percent.
    (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.
  (11) Agency-- A HCSSA.
  (12) Applicant--The owner of an agency that is applying for a license under the Statute. This is the person in whose name the license will be issued.
  (13) Assistance with self-administration of 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.
  (14) Association--A partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity that is not a corporation.
  (15) Audiologist--A person who is currently licensed under the Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 401, as an audiologist.
  (16) Bereavement--The process by which a survivor of a deceased person mourns and experiences grief.
  (17) Bereavement services--Support services offered to a family during bereavement. Services may be provided to persons other than family members, including residents of a skilled nursing facility, nursing facility, or intermediate care facility for individuals with an intellectual disability or related conditions, when appropriate and identified in a bereavement plan of care.
  (18) Biologicals--A medicinal preparation made from living organisms and their products, including serums, vaccines, antigens, and antitoxins.
  (19) Boarding home facility--An establishment defined in Texas Health and Safety Code §260.001(2).
  (20) 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 that are stored at an unlicensed site.
  (21) Care plan--
    (A) a written plan prepared by the appropriate health care professional 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.
  (22) 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.
  (23) Certified agency--A home and community support services agency, or portion of the agency, that:
    (A) provides a home health service; and
    (B) is certified by an official of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as in compliance with Medicare conditions of participation in 42 USC Chapter 7, Subchapter XVIII.
  (24) Certified home health services--Home health services that are provided by a certified agency.
  (25) CFR--Code of Federal Regulations. The regulations and rules promulgated by agencies of the Federal government that address a broad range of subjects, including hospice care and home health services.
  (26) Change of ownership--An event that results in a change to the federal taxpayer identification number of the license holder of an agency. The substitution of a personal representative for a deceased license holder is not a change of ownership.
  (27) Chief financial officer--An individual who is responsible for supervising and managing all financial activities for a home and community support services agency.
  (28) 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 (for example, vaccination) if the spouse, significant other, or other family member receives the service in connection with the care of a client.
  (29) 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.
  (30) CMS--Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The federal agency that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with the states to administer Medicaid.
Cont'd...