(a) An assisted living facility's visitation policies and procedures may change during a public health emergency or disaster. Assisted living facility (ALF) visitation policies and procedures may not be more restrictive than guidance or directives issued by HHSC, DSHS, executive or local orders.
(b) An ALF may not prohibit a resident from receiving in-person visitation with a religious counselor during a public health emergency or disaster 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.
(c) An ALF 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 condition in-person visitation with a religious counselor on the religious counselor's compliance with an ALF's guidelines, policies, and procedures for in-person visitation with a religious counselor.
(d) An ALF 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.

Source Note: The provisions of this §570.111 adopted to be effective June 1, 2022, 47 TexReg 3143