SECTION 554.2111. Suspension of Admissions

(a) If the commissioner finds that a nursing facility has committed an act for which a civil penalty may be imposed under §242.065, Health and Safety Code, the commissioner may order the nursing facility to immediately suspend admissions. For the purpose of this remedy, the Texas Department of Human Services defines an admission as the entry into a facility of a new resident or of a resident who has been absent from the facility for 24 or more hours.

(1) A waiver to allow a resident to be admitted may be considered by the commissioner or his designee.

(2) In determining whether to grant a waiver under paragraph (1) of this subsection, factors that the commissioner or his or her designee may consider include, but are not limited to:

(A) the reason(s) for which admissions at the facility are suspended;

(B) the facility's ability to correct the reasons for which admissions at the facility are suspended;

(C) the relation between the reasons for which admissions at the facility are suspended and the health care needs of the resident who seeks to return to the facility;

(D) whether the resident who wants to return to the facility has a spouse or relative in the facility; or

(E) the effect that barring the resident's return to the facility or other alternative placement will have on the ability of the resident to maintain contact with the resident's attending physician, family, responsible party, and agent (if any) under a medical power of attorney.

(3) A facility, with regard to which admissions are suspended, must inform a resident or his responsible party upon leaving that facility, that if he leaves for more than 24 hours, he may not be able to return.

(b) A suspension of admissions is effective on the date a nursing facility receives notice of the order and of the manner in which the order may be appealed. The Texas Department of Human Services provides an opportunity for a hearing on the appeal of the order within 14 days of the date the suspension becomes effective.

(c) During the time admissions are suspended, a nursing facility must post a notice of the suspension on all entrance and exit doors. The notice must contain the dates of the suspension.

(d) A person commits a Class C misdemeanor if the person does not post the required notice or removes a notice while the suspension of admissions is in effect.

Source Note: The provisions of this §554.2111 adopted to be effective March 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 1314; amended to be effective March 1, 2001, 26 TexReg 984; transferred effective January 15, 2021, as published in the Texas Register December 11, 2020, 45 TexReg 8871