CERTAIN RESTRAINTS PROHIBITED.

(a) A person may not administer to a resident of a facility a restraint that:

(1) obstructs the resident's airway, including a procedure that places anything in, on, or over the resident's mouth or nose;

(2) impairs the resident's breathing by putting pressure on the torso; or

(3) interferes with the resident's ability to communicate.

(b) A person may use a prone or supine hold on the resident of a facility only if the person:

(1) limits the hold to no longer than the period specified by rules adopted under Section 322.052;

(2) uses the hold only as a last resort when other less restrictive interventions have proven to be ineffective; and

(3) uses the hold only when an observer, who is trained to identify the risks associated with positional, compression, or restraint asphyxiation and with prone and supine holds and who is not involved in the restraint, is ensuring the resident's breathing is not impaired.

(c) Small residential facilities and small residential service providers are exempt from Subsection (b)(3).