SECTION 558.30. Operation of an Inpatient Unit at a Parent Agency

(a) To operate an inpatient unit at a parent agency, the license holder for the parent agency or an applicant for an initial license to provide hospice services must:

(1) submit an initial parent application through the online portal according to applicable instructions for requesting HHSC approval to operate an inpatient unit at the parent agency;

(2) send written notice to HHSC that it is ready for a Life Safety Code inspection through the online portal;

(3) allow HHSC to conduct an on-site Life Safety Code inspection to determine if the inpatient unit is in compliance with §558.871 of this chapter (relating to Physical Environment in a Hospice Inpatient Unit);

(4) obtain verification from HHSC that the inpatient unit is in compliance with Subchapter H, Division 7 of this chapter (relating to Hospice Inpatient Units) before admitting a client to the inpatient unit;

(5) after HHSC issues a license authorizing the inpatient unit, admit and provide hospice services to a client in the inpatient unit; and

(6) except as provided in subsection (c) of this section:

(A) submit the Notification of Readiness for a Health Survey of a Hospice Inpatient Unit (HHSC Form 2020-A) to HHSC after admitting and providing services to at least one client in the inpatient unit; and

(B) be determined by HHSC to be in substantial compliance with the Statute and this chapter, including Subchapter H of this chapter (relating to Standards Specific to Agencies Licensed to Provide Hospice Services).

(b) If the applicant is currently licensed at the time an agency notifies HHSC in accordance with subsection (a)(1) of this section, the agency must not have enforcement action pending against the license under which the agency would operate the inpatient unit.

(c) An agency that provides hospice services is not required to submit the Notification of Readiness for a Health Survey of a Hospice Inpatient Unit (HHSC Form 2020-A) in accordance with subsection (a)(6)(A) of this section if the agency demonstrates that it is exempt from a health survey, as described in §558.503 of this chapter (relating to Exemption From a Survey). The agency may demonstrate that it is exempt from the initial health survey described in §558.521 of this chapter (relating to Requirements for an Initial Survey) by submitting the accreditation documentation from an approved accreditation organization referenced in §558.503 of this chapter to the designated HHSC survey office within seven days after the agency receives the accreditation documentation.

(d) If HHSC grants an application for an initial parent agency license with an inpatient unit or to add an inpatient unit to a licensed parent agency, the licensed agency and the license holder must comply with the Statute and this chapter, including Subchapter H of this chapter.

Source Note: The provisions of this §558.30 adopted to be effective January 17, 2018, 43 TexReg 238; transferred effective May 1, 2019, as published in the April 12, 2019, issue of the Texas Register, 44 TexReg 1893; amended to be effective April 25, 2021, 46 TexReg 2427