2005 Texas Health & Safety Code CHAPTER 13. HEALTH DEPARTMENT HOSPITALS AND RESPIRATORY FACILITIES

HEALTH & SAFETY CODE

CHAPTER 13. HEALTH DEPARTMENT HOSPITALS AND RESPIRATORY FACILITIES

SUBCHAPTER A. CARE AND TREATMENT IN HEALTH DEPARTMENT HOSPITALS


	§ 13.002. ADMISSION OF OTHER PATIENTS.  (a) The board may 
admit to any hospital under its supervision a patient who:
		(1)  is eligible to receive patient services under a 
department program;  and
		(2)  will benefit from hospitalization.                                       
	(b)  Admission to a hospital as authorized under this section 
is subject to the availability of:
		(1)  appropriate space after the needs of eligible 
tuberculosis and chronic respiratory disease patients have been 
met;  and
		(2)  trained medical personnel for the necessary 
medical care and treatment.
	(c)  The board may adopt rules and enter into contracts as 
necessary to implement this section.
	(d)  This section does not require the board or department 
to:               
		(1)  admit a patient to a particular hospital;                                
		(2)  guarantee the availability of space at any 
hospital;  or               
		(3)  provide treatment for a particular medical need at 
any hospital.       

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.003. SERVICES AT SOUTH TEXAS HEALTH CARE 
SYSTEM.  (a) The primary purpose of the South Texas Health Care 
System is to provide inpatient and outpatient services, either 
directly or by contract with one or more public or private health 
care providers or entities, to the residents of the Lower Rio Grande 
Valley.
	(b)  The board may establish at the South Texas Health Care 
System:          
		(1)  cancer screening;                                                        
		(2)  diagnostic services;                                                     
		(3)  educational services;                                                    
		(4)  obstetrical services;                                                    
		(5)  gynecological services;                                                  
		(6)  other inpatient health care services;  and                               
		(7)  outpatient health care services, including 
diagnostic, treatment, disease management, and supportive care 
services.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1106, § 9, eff. Aug. 30, 1999;  Acts 
2001, 77th Leg., ch. 263, § 2, eff. May 22, 2001.


	§ 13.004. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN MENTALLY ILL OR MENTALLY 
RETARDED PERSONS.  (a) The Texas Department of Mental Health and 
Mental Retardation may transfer a mentally ill or mentally retarded 
person who is infected with tuberculosis to the Texas Center for 
Infectious Disease.
	(b)  The person may be transferred without that person's 
consent.            
	(c)  The cost of maintaining and treating the person at the 
Texas Center for Infectious Disease shall be paid from 
appropriations to that hospital.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 107, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.


	§ 13.005. CARE AND TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PATIENTS.  (a) 
The board shall fully develop essential services needed for the 
control of tuberculosis.  To provide those services, the board may 
contract for the support, maintenance, care, and treatment of 
tuberculosis patients:
		(1)  admitted to facilities under the board's 
jurisdiction;  or             
		(2)  otherwise subject to the board's jurisdiction.                           
	(b)  The board may contract with:                                              
		(1)  municipal, county, or state hospitals;                                   
		(2)  private physicians;                                                      
		(3)  licensed nursing homes and hospitals;  and                               
		(4)  hospital districts.                                                      
	(c)  The board may contract for diagnostic and other services 
available in a community or region as necessary to prevent further 
spread of tuberculosis.
	(d)  A contract may not include the assignment of any lien 
accruing to the state.
	(e)  The board may establish and operate outpatient clinics 
as necessary to provide follow-up treatment on discharged patients.  
A person who receives treatment as an outpatient is financially 
liable in the manner provided for inpatients.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.006. PURPOSE OF TUBERCULOSIS CONTROL PROGRAM.  The 
primary objectives of the tuberculosis control program are:
		(1)  case-finding;                                                            
		(2)  inpatient and outpatient treatment;  and                                 
		(3)  the eventual eradication of tuberculosis.                                

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    

SUBCHAPTER B. TEXAS TUBERCULOSIS CODE


	§ 13.031. SHORT TITLE.  This subchapter may be cited as 
the Texas Tuberculosis Code.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.032. PURPOSE.  The purpose of this subchapter is to:                   
		(1)  enable persons with tuberculosis to obtain needed 
care;                
		(2)  provide care and treatment for those persons;  and                       
		(3)  facilitate their hospitalization.                                        

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.033. DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:                                 
		(1)  "Legally responsible person" means a parent, 
guardian, or spouse, or any person whom the laws of this state hold 
responsible for debts incurred as a result of the hospitalization 
or treatment of a patient.
		(2)  "Local health authority" means a practicing 
physician who acts as:     
			(A)  a municipal or county health authority;                                 
			(B)  a director of a local health department or 
public health district;  or
			(C)  a regional director of a public health 
region.                        
		(3)  "Physician" means a person licensed by the Texas 
State Board of Medical Examiners to practice medicine in this 
state.
		(4)  "Political subdivision" includes a county, 
municipality, or hospital district.
		(5)  "State chest hospital" means the Texas Center for 
Infectious Disease and the South Texas Health Care System.
		(6)  "Tuberculosis patient" means a person who has any 
form of tuberculosis in any part of the body.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 107, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 
2001, 77th Leg., ch. 263, § 3, eff. May 22, 2001.


	§ 13.034. BOARD DUTIES.  (a) The board shall adopt rules 
and bylaws relating to:
		(1)  the management of state chest hospitals;                                 
		(2)  the duties of officers and employees of those 
hospitals;  and          
		(3)  the enforcement of necessary discipline and 
restraint of patients.     
	(b)  The board shall supply each hospital with the necessary 
personnel for the operation and maintenance of the hospital.
	(c)  The board may:                                                            
		(1)  prescribe the form and content of applications, 
certificates, records, and reports provided for under this 
subchapter; 
		(2)  require reports from the administrator of a state 
chest hospital relating to the admission, examination, diagnosis, 
release, or discharge of a patient; 
		(3)  visit each hospital regularly to review admitting 
procedures and the care and treatment of all new patients admitted 
since the last visit; 
		(4)  investigate by personal visit a complaint made by 
a patient or by another person on behalf of a patient;  and
		(5)  adopt rules as necessary for the proper and 
efficient hospitalization of tuberculosis patients.
	(d)  The board may delegate a power or duty of the board to an 
employee.  The delegation does not relieve the board from its 
responsibility.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.035. EMPLOYMENT OF HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATORS.  (a) The 
department shall employ a qualified hospital administrator for each 
state chest hospital.
	(b)  A hospital administrator employed under this section is 
not required to be a licensed physician.
	(c)  The hospital administrator may delegate a power or duty 
of the administrator to an employee.  The delegation does not 
relieve the hospital administrator from the responsibility.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.036. PATIENT ADMISSION;  EXAMINATION 
CERTIFICATE.  (a) A resident of this state who has tuberculosis may 
be admitted to a state chest hospital.  A person who is not a 
resident of this state and who has tuberculosis may be admitted to a 
state chest hospital in accordance with Section 13.046.
	(b)  The hospital shall review applications for admission 
and admit or deny admission to applicants.
	(c)  An application for admission to a state chest hospital 
shall be accompanied by a certificate issued by a physician stating 
that the physician has thoroughly examined the applicant and that 
the applicant has tuberculosis.  In the case of an applicant who is 
not a resident of this state, the certificate may be issued by a 
physician who holds a license to practice medicine in the state of 
residence of the applicant.
	(d)  In the case of an indigent applicant, the certificate 
may be issued by the local health authority.
	(e)  The department shall prescribe the form and content of 
the certificate. 
	(f)  If the applicant has a communicable disease other than 
tuberculosis, the hospital administrator may delay the admission 
until the other disease is no longer contagious.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 107, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.


	§ 13.037. DETERMINATION OF RESIDENCY.  (a) A person is a 
resident of this state if the person:
		(1)  is physically present and living voluntarily in 
this state;            
		(2)  intends to make a home in this state;  and                               
		(3)  is not in this state temporarily.                                        
	(b)  The intent to make a home in this state may be 
demonstrated by proof similar to or including:
		(1)  the possession of documentation, such as a Texas 
driver's license, motor vehicle registration, or voter 
registration certificate; 
		(2)  the presence of personal effects at a specific 
abode in this state;  or
		(3)  employment in this state.                                                

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.038. CLASSIFICATION OF PATIENTS;  LIEN.  (a) A 
patient admitted to a state chest hospital is a public patient and 
classified as indigent, nonindigent, or nonresident.
	(b)  An indigent public patient is a person who:                               
		(1)  does not possess property of any kind;                                   
		(2)  has no person who is legally responsible for the 
patient's support;  and
		(3)  is unable to reimburse the state.                                        
	(c)  A nonindigent public patient is a person who possesses 
property out of which the state may be reimbursed, or who has a 
person who is legally responsible for the patient's support.
	(d)  Except as provided by Section 13.040, the state shall 
support and maintain an indigent or nonindigent public patient at 
state expense but is entitled to reimbursement for a nonindigent 
public patient's support.
	(e)  The state's claim for nonindigent support and 
maintenance constitutes a lien against the property of the patient 
or the legally responsible person who is financially able to 
contribute.
	(f)  A nonresident public patient is a person who is admitted 
in accordance with an interstate agreement under Section 13.046.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended 
by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 107, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.


	§ 13.039. COLLECTION OF STATE'S CLAIM.  (a) A state claim 
for patient support and maintenance may be collected through an 
action brought against the patient or the person legally 
responsible for the patient.  The action shall be brought in the 
county from which the patient was sent and shall be brought in the 
name of the state by the county or district attorney of that county 
or by the attorney general.
	(b)  The action shall be brought on the written request of 
the state chest hospital administrator, accompanied by a 
certificate as to the amount owed to the state.  In any action, the 
certificate is sufficient evidence of the amount owed to the state 
for the support of that patient.
	(c)  On receipt of the request, the attorney shall bring and 
conduct the suit and is entitled to a commission of 10 percent of 
the amount collected.  All money collected under this section, less 
the amount of the commission, shall be paid by the attorney to the 
hospital administrator, who shall receive the amount and give a 
receipt.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.040. EFFECT OF INDIGENT HEALTH CARE AND TREATMENT 
ACT.  If an indigent or nonindigent public patient is eligible for 
health care assistance from a county hospital or public hospital 
under Chapter 61 (Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act), the 
state is entitled to reimbursement from that hospital for the 
treatment and support of the patient to the extent prescribed by 
that chapter.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.041. RETURN OF CERTAIN NONRESIDENTS;  RECIPROCAL 
AGREEMENTS.  (a) The board may:
		(1)  return a nonresident patient admitted to a state 
chest hospital to the proper agency of the state of the patient's 
residence;  and
		(2)  permit the return of a resident of this state who 
has been admitted to a tuberculosis hospital in another state.
	(b)  The state that is returning a patient shall pay the 
expenses of the return.
	(c)  The board may enter into reciprocal agreements with the 
proper agencies of other states to facilitate the return to the 
states of their residence of nonresident patients admitted to state 
chest hospitals in other states.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.042. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.  (a) A state chest 
hospital may not discriminate against a patient.
	(b)  Each patient is entitled to equal facilities, 
attention, and treatment.  However, a state chest hospital may 
provide different care and treatment of patients because of 
differences in the condition of the individual patients.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.043. GRATUITIES PROHIBITED.  (a) A patient in a 
state chest hospital may not offer an officer, agent, or employee of 
the hospital a tip, payment, or reward of any kind.
	(b)  A patient who violates this section may be expelled from 
the hospital.  An employee who accepts a tip, payment, or reward of 
any kind from a patient may be discharged.
	(c)  The board shall strictly enforce this section.                            

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.044. PRIVATE ACCOMMODATIONS.  (a) On the request of 
any charitable organization in this state, the board may permit the 
erection, furnishing, and maintenance by the charitable 
organization of accommodations on the grounds of a state chest 
hospital for persons who have tuberculosis and who are:
		(1)  members of the charitable organization;                                  
		(2)  members of the families of persons who are members 
of the charitable organization;  or
		(3)  surviving spouses or minor children of deceased 
persons who are members of the charitable organization.
	(b)  The accommodations shall be reserved for the 
preferential use of persons described by Subsection (a).
	(c)  The state may not incur any expense in the erection, 
furnishing, and maintenance of the accommodations.  The charitable 
organization that enters a patient under this section may be 
required to pay the pro rata part of the maintenance costs of that 
patient that is found to be just and equitable, pending the next 
legislative appropriation for the maintenance of state chest 
hospitals.  Any part of the accommodations not used by persons 
described by Subsection (a) may be used, at the discretion of the 
hospital administrator, by other patients in the hospital without 
charge to the state.
	(d)  The officers or a board or committee of the charitable 
organization and the board must enter into a written agreement 
relating to the location, construction, style, and character, and 
terms of existence of buildings, and other questions arising in 
connection with the grant of permission to erect and maintain 
private accommodations.  The written agreement must be recorded in 
the minutes of the board.
	(e)  Except for the preferential right to occupy vacant 
accommodations erected by the person's charitable organization, a 
person described by Subsection (a) shall be classified in the same 
manner as other state chest hospital patients and shall be 
admitted, maintained, cared for, and treated in those hospitals in 
the same manner and under the same conditions and rules that apply 
to other patients.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.045. DONATION OF LAND BY COUNTY.  (a) A county may 
donate and convey land to the state in consideration of the 
establishment of a state chest hospital by the board.
	(b)  The commissioners court of the county may determine the 
desirability, manner, and form of the donation and conveyance.
	(c)  This section does not authorize the commissioners court 
of a county to convey land donated or granted for educational 
purposes to the county in any manner other than that directed by 
law.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.                    


	§ 13.046. ADMISSION OF NONRESIDENT PATIENTS.  (a) The 
department may enter into an agreement with an agency of another 
state responsible for the care of residents of that state who have 
tuberculosis under which:
		(1)  residents of the other state who have tuberculosis 
may be admitted to a state chest hospital, subject to the 
availability of appropriate space after the needs of eligible 
tuberculosis and chronic respiratory disease patients who are 
residents of this state have been met;  and
		(2)  the other state is responsible for paying all 
costs of the hospitalization and treatment of patients admitted 
under the agreement.
	(b)  Section 13.041 does not apply to the return of a 
nonresident patient admitted to a state chest hospital in 
accordance with an agreement entered into under this section.  The 
return of that patient to the state of residence is governed by the 
agreement.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 107, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.