Health and Safety Code
CHAPTER 13. HEALTH DEPARTMENT HOSPITALS AND RESPIRATORY
FACILITIES
SUBCHAPTER A. CARE AND TREATMENT IN HEALTH DEPARTMENT HOSPITALS
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 13.003. Services at South Texas Hospital.
(a) The primary purpose of the South Texas Hospital is to
provide inpatient services to the residents of the Lower Rio
Grande Valley.
(b) The board may establish at the South Texas Hospital:
(1) cancer screening;
(2) diagnostic services;
(3) educational services;
(4) obstetrical services;
(5) gynecological services; and
(6) other inpatient health care services.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 13.007. Medical Services Trust Fund.
The medical services trust fund is created as a special account
in the general revenue fund. Fees and charges collected for
physicians' services provided at the South Texas Hospital and the
Texas Center for Infectious Disease shall be deposited to the
account.
Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 712, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 13.008. Use of Medical Services Trust Fund.
(a) The medical services trust fund shall be used for
recruiting and retaining medical staff at the South Texas
Hospital and the Texas Center for Infectious Disease and
supplementing their salaries.
(b) In addition to other authorized uses, the medical services
trust fund may be used to supplement salaries of nurses and other
medical personnel at the South Texas Hospital and the Texas
Center for Infectious Disease.
Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 712, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
SUBCHAPTER B. TEXAS TUBERCULOSIS CODE
Sec. 13.031. Short Title.
This subchapter may be cited as the Texas Tuberculosis Code.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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 Hospital.
(6) "Tuberculosis patient" means a person who has any form
of tuberculosis in any part of the body.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 13.036. Patient Admission; Examination Certificate.
(a) A resident of this state who has tuberculosis may be
admitted to a state chest hospital.
(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.
(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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 13.038. Classification of Patients; Lien.
(a) A patient admitted to a state chest hospital is a public
patient and classified as indigent or nonindigent.
(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.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
SUBCHAPTER C. RESPIRATORY DISEASE PILOT PROGRAM
Sec. 13.071. Pilot Program.
(a) In addition to treating tuberculosis, the South Texas
Hospital and the Texas Center for Infectious Disease may operate
a pilot program to treat persons afflicted with other chronic
respiratory diseases.
(b) Services provided under the pilot program may not interfere
with the primary objectives of the tuberculosis control program.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 13.072. Patient Qualifications.
The pilot program is restricted to persons who have a type of
chronic pulmonary disease for which there is some hope of
improvement and rehabilitation, and who:
(1) are indigent and residents of this state; or
(2) are able to pay for treatment but are unable to obtain
treatment at any other public or private institution.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 13.073. Board Powers and Duties.
(a) The board by rule may provide necessary requirements for
program admission and procedures for persons admitted for
treatment under the pilot program.
(b) The board may adopt plans and policies for using the pilot
program in connection with programs administered by other state
agencies, institutions, or facilities, including research,
treatment, study, and training.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 13.074. Limit on Number of Patients.
(a) The South Texas Hospital and the Texas Center for
Infectious Disease may treat not more than 25 patients at any one
time under the pilot program unless the treatment of a greater
number of patients does not conflict with the primary objectives
of the tuberculosis control program.
(b) During a biennium that the pilot program is operating, the
board may use for the operation of the chest hospitals funds
appropriated for the inpatient cost of treating tuberculosis if
the actual overall daily patient population is less than the
average daily patient population projected in the appropriation.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 13.075. Program Funding.
(a) The board may accept and administer gifts and grants of
money to implement this chapter and that are received from:
(1) the federal government;
(2) an individual;
(3) a corporation;
(4) a trust;
(5) a federal or state vocational rehabilitation program; or
(6) a foundation.
(b) The board shall use funds appropriated by the legislature
for the pilot program to operate the program.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 198