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HHSC Long Term Care Regulation continues to hear from home and community support services agencies about challenges in COVID-19 case reporting in accordance with Health and Safety Code, Title 2, Chapter 81 (regarding Communicable Diseases; Public Health Disasters; Public Health Emergencies). Examples of challenges include that local health departments and regional Department of State Health Services office are refusing reports from HCSSAs, lengthy call wait times with no call back feature, and regional inconsistencies on the acceptance of reports.
When a local health department refuses a HCSSA report, the HCSSA should report to the regional DSHS office. Agencies experiencing these challenges may report incidences to DSHS directly via the COVID-19 mailbox at coronavirus@dshs.texas.gov.