SECTION 554.1012. Special Nurses and Sitters

(a) Facilities may develop their own policies regarding private duty aides and sitters.

(b) The nursing facility is responsible for meeting the needs of the residents regardless of the presence of special nurses or sitters.

(c) In Medicaid-certified facilities, the following apply.

(1) The facility is not responsible for payment for a special nurse (registered nurse or licensed vocational nurse) or sitter requested by the resident's physician or family.

(2) The special nurse or sitter must be hired as a separate agreement between the nurse or sitter and resident, or the resident's family or legal representative, and paid directly by them.

(3) The facility may assist in the hiring of a special nurse or sitter but may not in any way enter into the billing, collection, or fee-setting for the special duty nurse or sitter. If it is determined by the auditing staff that the facility received monetary benefits from an arrangement for special duty nurses or sitters, a financial exception will be made and the facility will be asked to reimburse the resident or the responsible party who paid the special duty nurses or sitters. If the resident or family hires an individual to do the special duty nursing, who was already on the facility's staff and a replacement for this person was not hired, the facility will be determined to have received a monetary benefit. See §19.2606 of this title (relating to Supplementation of Vendor Payments).

Source Note: The provisions of this §554.1012 adopted to be effective May 1, 1995, 20 TexReg 2393; transferred effective January 15, 2021, as published in the Texas Register December 11, 2020, 45 TexReg 8871