Sec. 142.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Administrative support site" means a facility or site where a home and community support services agency performs administrative and other support functions but does not provide direct home health, hospice, or personal assistance services.

(2) "Alternate delivery site" means a facility or site, including a residential unit or an inpatient unit:

(A) that is owned or operated by a hospice;

(B) that is not the hospice's principal place of business;

(C) that is located in the geographical area served by the hospice; and

(D) from which the hospice provides hospice services.

(3) "Bereavement" means the process by which a survivor of a deceased person mourns and experiences grief.

(4) "Bereavement services" means support services offered to a family during bereavement.

(5) "Branch office" means a facility or site in the geographical area served by a home and community support agency where home health or personal assistance services are delivered or active client records are maintained.

(6) "Certified agency" means a home and community support services agency, or a portion of the agency, that:

(A) provides a home health service; and

(B) is certified by an official of the United States Department of Health and Human Services as in compliance with conditions of participation in Title XVIII, Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1395 et seq.).

(7) "Certified home health services" means home health services that are provided by a certified agency.

(8) "Chief financial officer" means an individual who is responsible for supervising and managing all financial activities for a home and community support services agency.

(9) "Controlling person" means a person who controls a home and community support services agency or other person as described by Section 142.0012.

(10) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, Sec. 3.1639(48), eff. April 2, 2015.

(11) "Counselor" means an individual qualified under Medicare standards to provide counseling services, including bereavement, dietary, spiritual, and other counseling services, to both the client and the family.

(11-a) "Department" means the Department of Aging and Disability Services.

(11-b) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, Sec. 3.1639(48), eff. April 2, 2015.

(11-c) "Habilitation" means habilitation services, as defined by Section 534.001, Government Code, delivered by a licensed home and community support services agency.

(12) "Home and community support services agency" means a person who provides home health, hospice, habilitation, or personal assistance services for pay or other consideration in a client's residence, an independent living environment, or another appropriate location.

(12-a) "Home and community support services agency administrator" or "administrator" means the person who is responsible for implementing and supervising the administrative policies and operations of the home and community support services agency and for administratively supervising the provision of all services to agency clients on a day-to-day basis.

(13) "Home health service" means the provision of one or more of the following health services required by an individual in a residence or independent living environment:

(A) nursing, including blood pressure monitoring and diabetes treatment;

(B) physical, occupational, speech, or respiratory therapy;

(C) medical social service;

(D) intravenous therapy;

(E) dialysis;

(F) service provided by unlicensed personnel under the delegation or supervision of a licensed health professional;

(G) the furnishing of medical equipment and supplies, excluding drugs and medicines; or

(H) nutritional counseling.

(14) "Hospice" means a person licensed under this chapter to provide hospice services, including a person who owns or operates a residential unit or an inpatient unit.

(15) "Hospice services" means services, including services provided by unlicensed personnel under the delegation of a registered nurse or physical therapist, provided to a client or a client's family as part of a coordinated program consistent with the standards and rules adopted under this chapter. These services include support services for terminally ill patients and their families that:

(A) are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during the last stages of illness, during death, and during bereavement;

(B) are provided by a medically directed interdisciplinary team; and

(C) may be provided in a home, nursing home, residential unit, or inpatient unit according to need. These services do not include inpatient care normally provided in a licensed hospital to a terminally ill person who has not elected to be a hospice client.

(16) "Inpatient unit" means a facility that provides a continuum of medical or nursing care and other hospice services to clients admitted into the unit and that is in compliance with:

(A) the conditions of participation for inpatient units adopted under Title XVIII, Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1395 et seq.); and

(B) standards adopted under this chapter.

(17) "Independent living environment" means:

(A) a client's individual residence, which may include a group home or foster home; or

(B) other settings where a client participates in activities, including school, work, or church.

(18) "Interdisciplinary team" means a group of individuals who work together in a coordinated manner to provide hospice services and must include a physician, registered nurse, social worker, and counselor.

(19) "Investigation" means an inspection or survey conducted by a representative of the department to determine if a licensee is in compliance with this chapter.

(20) Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 609 (S.B. 916), Sec. 3, eff. June 10, 2019.

(21) "Person" means an individual, corporation, or association.

(22) "Personal assistance service" means routine ongoing care or services required by an individual in a residence or independent living environment that enable the individual to engage in the activities of daily living or to perform the physical functions required for independent living, including respite services. The term includes:

(A) personal care;

(B) health-related services performed under circumstances that are defined as not constituting the practice of professional nursing by the Texas Board of Nursing under the terms of a memorandum of understanding executed by the board and the department; and

(C) health-related tasks provided by unlicensed personnel under the delegation of a registered nurse or that a registered nurse determines do not require delegation.

(22-a) "Personal care" means the provision of one or more of the following services required by an individual in a residence or independent living environment:

(A) bathing;

(B) dressing;

(C) grooming;

(D) feeding;

(E) exercising;

(F) toileting;

(G) positioning;

(H) assisting with self-administered medications;

(I) routine hair and skin care; and

(J) transfer or ambulation.

(23) "Place of business" means an office of a home and community support services agency that maintains client records or directs home health, hospice, habilitation, or personal assistance services. The term does not include an administrative support site.

(24) "Residence" means a place where a person resides and includes a home, a nursing home, a convalescent home, or a residential unit.

(25) "Residential unit" means a facility that provides living quarters and hospice services to clients admitted into the unit and that is in compliance with standards adopted under this chapter.

(26) "Respite services" means support options that are provided temporarily for the purpose of relief for a primary caregiver in providing care to individuals of all ages with disabilities or at risk of abuse or neglect.

(27) "Social worker" means an individual licensed as a social worker under Chapter 505, Occupations Code.

(28) "Support services" means social, spiritual, and emotional care provided to a client and a client's family by a hospice.

(29) "Terminal illness" means an illness for which there is a limited prognosis if the illness runs its usual course.

(30) "Volunteer" means an individual who provides assistance to a home and community support services agency without compensation other than reimbursement for actual expenses.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 42, 43, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 800, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1191, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 276, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 702, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 198, Sec. 2.193, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 892, Sec. 25, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 889 (H.B. 2426), Sec. 63, eff. September 1, 2007.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 879 (S.B. 223), Sec. 1.01, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 980 (H.B. 1720), Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0395, eff. April 2, 2015.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.1639(48), eff. April 2, 2015.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 826 (H.B. 4001), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 609 (S.B. 916), Sec. 2, eff. June 10, 2019.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 609 (S.B. 916), Sec. 3, eff. June 10, 2019.