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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 12. Health
Agency 5. Department of Health
Chapter 391. Regulations for the Licensure of Hospice
5/30/2025

12VAC5-391-370. Spiritual counseling and bereavement services.

A. The hospice program shall provide for the delivery of spiritual counseling and bereavement services that reflect the family's needs and desires and are delivered according to the overall plan of care.

B. Spiritual counseling may be provided through a working arrangement with individual clergy, clergy associations, and other religious programs in the community or by clergy employed by the hospice program.

C. The hospice program shall provide bereavement services to the family for a minimum of one year after the patient's death.

D. The hospice program shall maintain a list of individuals who provide spiritual and bereavement services. The list shall be made available upon request to patients, families, hospice program employees, and contractors.

E. Arrangements for and delivery of spiritual counseling and bereavement services shall be documented in the patient's record.

F. During a declared public health emergency related to a communicable disease of public health threat, each hospice facility shall establish a protocol to allow patients to receive visits from a rabbi, priest, minister, or clergy member of a religious denomination or sect. Such protocol shall be consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and subject to compliance with an executive order, order of public health, department guidance, or other applicable federal or state guidance having the effect of limiting visitation.

1. The protocol may restrict the frequency and duration of visits and may require visits to be conducted virtually using interactive audio or video technology.

2. The protocol may require the person visiting a patient pursuant to this subsection to comply with all reasonable requirements of the hospice facility adopted to protect the health and safety of the person, patients, and staff of the hospice program.

Statutory Authority

§§ 32.1-12 and 32.1-162.5 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 21, Issue 23, eff. November 1, 2005; amended, Virginia Register Volume 41, Issue 17, eff. May 22, 2025.

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