(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.

Source Note: The provisions of this §570.513 adopted to be effective June 1, 2022, 47 TexReg 3143