                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

REGULATIONS (§ 32.1-162.5)

A. The Board shall prescribe such regulations governing the activities and
services provided by hospices as may be necessary to protect the public health,
safety and welfare. Such regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the
requirements for: the qualifications and supervision of licensed and nonlicensed
personnel; the standards for the care, treatment, health, safety, welfare, and
comfort of patients and their families served by the program; the management,
operation, staffing and equipping of the hospice program or hospice facility;
clinical and business records kept by the hospice or hospice facility; and
procedures for the review of utilization and quality of care. To avoid
duplication in regulations, the Board shall incorporate regulations applicable
to facilities licensed as hospitals or nursing homes under Article 1 (&#xA7;
32.1-123 et seq.) and to organizations licensed as home care organizations under
Article 7.1 (&#xA7; 32.1-162.7 et seq.) that are also applicable to hospice
programs in the regulations to govern hospices. A person who seeks a license to
establish or operate a hospice and who has a preexisting valid license to
operate a hospital, nursing home, or home care organization shall be considered
in compliance with those regulations that are applicable to both a hospice and
the facility for which it has a license.

B. Notwithstanding any law or regulation to the contrary, regulations for
hospice facilities shall include minimum standards for design and construction
consistent with the Hospice Care section of the current edition of the
Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Health Care Facilities
issued by the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for
Health.

C. Regulations for hospices shall require each hospice facility to establish a
protocol to allow each patient to receive visits, consistent with guidance from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as directed by the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Board, during a public health
emergency related to COVID-19. Such protocol shall include provisions describing
(i) the conditions, including conditions related to the presence of COVID-19 in
the hospice facility and community, under which in-person visits will be allowed
and under which in-person visits will not be allowed and visits will be required
to be virtual; (ii) the requirements with which in-person visitors will be
required to comply to protect the health and safety of patients and staff of the
hospice facility; (iii) the types of technology, including interactive audio or
video technology, and the staff support necessary to ensure visits are provided
as required by this subsection; and (iv) the steps the hospice facility will
take in the event of a technology failure, service interruption, or documented
emergency that prevents visits from occurring as required by this subsection.
Such protocol shall also include (a) a statement of the frequency with which
visits, including virtual and in-person, where appropriate, will be allowed,
which shall be at least once every 10 calendar days for each patient; (b) a
provision authorizing a patient or the patient&#8217;s personal representative
to waive or limit visitation, provided that such waiver or limitation is
included in the patient&#8217;s health record; and (c) a requirement that each
hospice facility publish on its website or communicate to patients or their
personal representatives, in writing or via electronic means, the hospice
facility&#8217;s plan for providing visits to patients as required by this
subsection.

D. During a declared public health emergency related to a communicable disease
of public health threat, regulations governing hospices shall require each
hospice facility to establish a protocol to allow patients to receive visits
from a rabbi, priest, minister, or clergy of any religious denomination or sect
consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and subject to compliance with
any executive order, order of public health, Department guidance, or any other
applicable federal or state guidance having the effect of limiting visitation.
Such protocol may restrict the frequency and duration of visits and may require
visits to be conducted virtually using interactive audio or video technology.
Any such protocol may require the person visiting a patient pursuant to this
subsection to comply with all reasonable requirements of the hospice adopted to
protect the health and safety of the person, patients, and staff of the hospice.

HISTORY: 1981, c. 346; 2007, c. 397; 2020, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 10, 11; 2021, Sp.
Sess. I, c. 525.