Texas Administrative Code › Title 26 - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › Part 1 - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION › Chapter 555 - NURSING FACILITY ADMINISTRATORS › Subchapter D - REFERRALS, COMPLAINT PROCEDURES, AND SANCTIONS › Section 555.55 - Violations of Standards of Conduct

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The
				  Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) may impose a sanction listed
				  in § 555.57 of this subchapter (relating to Schedule of Sanctions) against
				  a licensee for violations of the following nursing facility administrator (NFA)
				  Standards of Conduct:
(1) A licensee must
				  employ sufficient staff to adequately meet the needs of nursing facility
				  residents as determined by care outcomes.
(2) A licensee must ensure that sufficient
				  resources are present to provide adequate nutrition, medications, and
				  treatments to nursing facility residents in accordance with physician orders as
				  determined by care outcomes.
(3) A
				  licensee must promote and protect the rights of nursing facility residents and
				  ensure that employees, contractors, and others respect the rights of
				  residents.
(4) A licensee must
				  ensure that nursing facility residents remain free of chemical and physical
				  restraints unless required by a physician's order to protect a nursing facility
				  resident's health and safety.
(5) A
				  licensee must report and direct nursing facility staff to report to the
				  appropriate government agency any suspected case of abuse, neglect, or
				  misappropriation of resident property as defined in § 555.2 of this
				  chapter (relating to Definitions).
(6) A licensee must ensure that the nursing
				  facility is physically maintained in a manner that protects the health and
				  safety of the residents and the public.
(7) A licensee must notify and direct
				  employees to notify an appropriate government agency of any suspected cases of
				  criminal activity as defined by state and federal laws.
(8) A licensee must post in the nursing
				  facility where the licensee is employed the notice provided by HHSC that gives
				  the address and telephone number for reporting complaints against an NFA. The
				  notice must be posted in a conspicuous place and in clearly legible
				  type.
(9) A licensee must not
				  knowingly or through negligence commit, direct, or allow actions that result or
				  could result in inadequate care, harm, or injury to a nursing facility
				  resident.
(10) A licensee must not
				  knowingly or through negligence allow a nursing facility employee to harm a
				  nursing facility resident by coercion, threat, intimidation, solicitation,
				  harassment, theft of personal property, or cruelty.
(11) A licensee must not knowingly or through
				  negligence allow or direct an employee to contradict or alter in any manner the
				  orders of a physician regarding a nursing facility resident's medical or
				  therapeutic care.
(12) A licensee
				  must not knowingly commit or through negligence allow another individual to
				  commit an act of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of resident property as
				  defined in § 555.2 of this chapter.
(13) A licensee must not permit another
				  individual to use his or her license or allow a nursing facility to falsely
				  post his or her license.
(14) A
				  licensee must not advertise or knowingly participate in the advertisement of
				  nursing facility services in a manner that is fraudulent, false, deceptive, or
				  misleading in form or content.
(15)
				  A licensee must not knowingly allow, aid, or abet a violation by another NFA of
				  the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 242, Subchapter I (text of Subchapter
				  I effective until federal determination of failure to comply with federal
				  regulations), or the agency's rules adopted under that subchapter and must
				  report such violations to HHSC.
(16) A licensee must not make or knowingly
				  allow an employee, contractor, or volunteer to make misrepresentations or
				  fraudulent statements about the operation of a nursing facility.
(17) A licensee must not knowingly allow an
				  employee's, a contractor's, or another person's action or inaction to result in
				  harassment or intimidation of any person for purposes of coercing that person
				  to use the services or equipment of a particular health agency or
				  facility.
(18) A licensee must not
				  falsely bill for goods or services or allow another person to bill for goods or
				  services other than those that have actually been delivered.
(19) A licensee must not make or file a false
				  report or allow an employee, contractor, or volunteer to make or file a report
				  that the licensee knows to be false.
(20) A licensee must not intentionally fail
				  to file a report or record required by state or federal law, impede or obstruct
				  such filings, or induce another person to impede or obstruct such
				  filings.
(21) A licensee must not
				  use or knowingly allow employees or others to use alcohol, narcotics, or other
				  drugs in a manner that interferes with the performance of the licensee's or
				  other person's duties.
(22) A
				  licensee must not knowingly or through negligence violate any confidentiality
				  provisions prescribed by state or federal law concerning a nursing facility
				  resident.
(23) A licensee must not
				  interfere with or impede an investigation by withholding or misrepresenting
				  facts to HHSC representatives, or by using threats or harassment against any
				  person involved or participating in the investigation.
(24) A licensee must not display a license
				  issued by HHSC that is reproduced, altered, expired, suspended, or
				  revoked.
(25) A licensee must not,
				  knowingly or through negligence, allow an employee or other individual to
				  mismanage a resident's personal funds deposited with the nursing
				  facility.
(26) A licensee must not
				  harass or intimidate an employee or other representative of HHSC, other
				  government agencies, or their representatives concerning the administration of
				  the nursing facility.
(27) A
				  licensee must not offer or give any gift, loan, or other benefit to a person
				  working for HHSC unless the benefit is offered or given on account of kinship
				  or a personal relationship independent of the official status of the person
				  working for HHSC.