Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. For purposes of
§9769 and §9771, a public health emergency
(PHE) is a declaration made pursuant to the Louisiana Health Emergency Powers
Act, R.S.
29:760 et seq., or current law
B. For purposes of
§9769 and §9771, clergy shall be defined
as follows:
1. a minister, priest, preacher,
rabbi, imam, Christian Science practitioner; or
2. other similar functionary of a religious
organization; or
3. an individual
reasonably believed by a resident to be such a clergy
member.
C. For purposes
of §9769 and §9771,
immediate family member shall mean the following of a resident in a nursing
facility:
1. spouse;
2. natural or adoptive parent, child, or
sibling;
3. stepparent, stepchild,
stepbrother, or stepsister;
4.
father-in-law, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, sonin-law, brother-in-law or
sister-in-law;
5. grandparent or
grandchild;
6. spouse of a
grandparent or grandchild; or
7.
legal or designated representative of the resident.
D. For purposes of
§9769 and §9771, resident shall mean a
resident of a licensed nursing facility in Louisiana or the legal or designated
representative of the resident.
E.
A licensed nursing facility shall comply with any federal law, regulation,
requirement, order, or guideline regarding visitation in nursing facilities
issued by any federal government agency during a declared public health
emergency. The provisions of the licensing rules in
§9769 F-I shall be preempted by any
federal statute, regulation, requirement, order, or guideline from a federal
government agency that requires a nursing facility to restrict resident
visitation in a manner that is more restrictive than the rules.
F. Nursing facilities shall comply with any
Louisiana state health officer (SHO) order or emergency notice regarding
visitation in nursing facilities during a declared PHE.
G. Nursing facilities shall comply with any
executive order or proclamation issued by the governor of the state of
Louisiana regarding visitation in a nursing facility during a declared
PHE.
H. The provisions of this
Section regarding visitation by members of the clergy shall apply to all
nursing facilities licensed by the Department of Health.
I. Subject to the requirements of
§9769 E-G, each nursing facility shall
allow members of the clergy to visit residents of the nursing facility during a
declared public health emergency (PHE) when a resident, or his legal or
designated representative, requests a visit with a member of the clergy,
subject to the following conditions and requirements:
1. Each nursing facility shall have a written
policy and procedure addressing visitation by members of the clergy. A copy of
the written policy and procedure shall be available, without cost, to the
resident and his legal or designated representative, upon request. The nursing
facility shall provide a link to an electronic copy of the policy and procedure
to a member of the clergy, upon request.
2. A nursing facility's policy and procedure
regarding clergy visitation may adopt reasonable time, place, and manner
restrictions, provided that such restrictions are implemented by the nursing
facility, in consultation with appropriate medical personnel, for the purpose
of mitigating the possibility of transmission of any infectious agent or
infectious disease or for the purpose of addressing the medical condition or
clinical considerations of an individual resident.
3. A nursing facility's policy and procedure
on clergy visitation, at a minimum, requires the following:
a. that the nursing facility shall give
special consideration and priority for clergy visitation to residents receiving
end-of-life care;
b. that a clergy
member may be screened for infectious agents or infectious diseases, utilizing
at least the current screening or testing methods and protocols recommended by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as applicable; if there is a
current Louisiana SHO order or emergency notice that requires more rigorous
screening or testing methods and protocols, then the nursing facility shall
utilize those methods and protocols;
c. that a clergy member may not be allowed to
visit a nursing facility resident if such clergy member has obvious signs or
symptoms of an infectious agent or infectious disease, or if such clergy member
tests positive for an infectious agent or infectious disease;
d. that a clergy member may not be allowed to
visit a nursing facility resident if the clergy member refuses to comply with
the provisions of the nursing facility's policy and procedure or refuses to
comply with the nursing facility's reasonable time, place, and manner
restrictions; and
e. that a clergy
member may be required to wear personal protective equipment as determined
appropriate by the nursing facility, considering the resident's medical
condition or clinical considerations; at the nursing facility's discretion,
personal protective equipment may be made available by the nursing facility to
clergy members.
f. ...
g. that a resident shall have the right to
consensual, nonsexual physical contact such as hand holding or hugging with a
member of the clergy; and
h. that a
nursing facility's policy and procedure include provisions for compliance with
any federal law, regulations, requirements, orders, or guidelines regarding
visitation in nursing facilities issued by any federal government agency during
a declared public health emergency.
4. A nursing facility shall submit a written
copy of its visitation policies and procedures to the Health Standards Section
of LDH at the initial licensure survey.
5. After licensure, the nursing facility
shall make its visitation policies and procedures available for review by LDH
at any time, upon request.
6. A
nursing facility shall within 24 hours after establishing its visitation
policies and procedures, make its policies and procedures easily accessible
from the homepage of its website.
AUTHORITY
NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
36:254 and
R.S.
40:2009.2-2116.
