093_HB1484eng

 
HB1484 Engrossed                     LRB093 07728 BDD 07916 b

 1        AN ACT concerning senior citizens.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 5.  The Illinois Act on the Aging is  amended  by
 5    changing Section 4.04 as follows:

 6        (20 ILCS 105/4.04) (from Ch. 23, par. 6104.04)
 7        Sec. 4.04.  Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.
 8        (a)  Long  Term  Care  Ombudsman  Program. The Department
 9    shall establish a Long Term Care Ombudsman  Program,  through
10    the  Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman ("the Office"),
11    in accordance with the provisions of the Older Americans  Act
12    of 1965, as now or hereafter amended.
13        (b)  Definitions.  As  used  in  this Section, unless the
14    context requires otherwise:
15             (1)  "Access" has the same  meaning  as  in  Section
16        1-104  of  the Nursing Home Care Act, as now or hereafter
17        amended; that is, it means the right to:
18                  (i)  Enter  any  long  term  care  facility  or
19             assisted living or shared housing  establishment  or
20             supportive living facility;
21                  (ii)  Communicate    privately    and   without
22             restriction with any resident who  consents  to  the
23             communication;
24                  (iii)  Seek  consent  to  communicate privately
25             and without restriction with any resident;
26                  (iv)  Inspect the clinical and other records of
27             a resident with the express written consent  of  the
28             resident;
29                  (v)  Observe  all  areas  of the long term care
30             facility or supportive living  facilities,  assisted
31             living  or  shared  housing establishment except the
 
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 1             living  area  of  any  resident  who  protests   the
 2             observation.
 3             (2)  "Long   Term   Care  Facility"  means  (i)  any
 4        facility as defined by Section 1-113 of the Nursing  Home
 5        Care  Act,  as  now  or  hereafter  amended; and (ii) any
 6        skilled nursing facility  or  a  nursing  facility  which
 7        meets  the requirements of Section 1819(a), (b), (c), and
 8        (d) or Section 1919(a), (b), (c), and (d) of  the  Social
 9        Security  Act,  as  now  or  hereafter amended (42 U.S.C.
10        1395i-3(a), (b), (c), and (d)  and  42  U.S.C.  1396r(a),
11        (b), (c), and (d)).
12             (2.5)  "Assisted  living  establishment" and "shared
13        housing establishment"  have  the  meanings  given  those
14        terms  in  Section  10  of the Assisted Living and Shared
15        Housing Act.
16             (2.7)  "Supportive living facility" means a facility
17        established under Section 5-5.01a of the Illinois  Public
18        Aid Code.
19             (3)  "State  Long  Term  Care  Ombudsman"  means any
20        person  employed  by  the  Department  to   fulfill   the
21        requirements  of  the  Office  of  State  Long  Term Care
22        Ombudsman as required under the Older  Americans  Act  of
23        1965,  as  now  or  hereafter  amended,  and Departmental
24        policy.
25             (3.1)  "Ombudsman"   means,   or   any    designated
26        representative  of  a  regional  sub-State long term care
27        ombudsman  program;  provided  that  the  representative,
28        whether he  is  paid  for  or  volunteers  his  ombudsman
29        services, shall be qualified and designated by the Office
30        authorized  by the Department to perform the duties of an
31        ombudsman as specified by the Department in rules and  in
32        accordance with the provisions of the Older Americans Act
33        of 1965, as now or hereafter amended.
34        (c)  Ombudsman; rules. The Office of State Long Term Care
 
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 1    Ombudsman  shall  be  composed  of  at  least  one  full-time
 2    ombudsman within the Department and shall include a system of
 3    designated   regional  sub-State  long  term  care  ombudsman
 4    programs. Each regional sub-State program shall be designated
 5    by the  State  Long  Term  Care  Ombudsman  Department  as  a
 6    subdivision  of  the  Office  and  any  representative  of  a
 7    regional   sub-State   program   shall   be   treated   as  a
 8    representative of the Office.
 9        The Department, in consultation with  the  Office,  shall
10    promulgate   administrative  rules  in  accordance  with  the
11    provisions of the Older Americans Act  of  1965,  as  now  or
12    hereafter  amended,  to establish the responsibilities of the
13    Department and the Office of State Long Term  Care  Ombudsman
14    and   the   designated   regional   Ombudsman  programs.  The
15    administrative rules shall include the responsibility of  the
16    Office  and  designated  regional programs to investigate and
17    resolve complaints made by or on behalf of residents of  long
18    term  care  facilities,  supportive  living  facilities,  and
19    assisted living and shared housing establishments relating to
20    actions,  inaction,  or  decisions  of  providers,  or  their
21    representatives,  of  long term care facilities, of supported
22    living facilities, of  assisted  living  and  shared  housing
23    establishments,  of  public  agencies,  or of social services
24    agencies, which may  adversely  affect  the  health,  safety,
25    welfare,  or  rights  of  such  residents. When necessary and
26    appropriate,  representatives  of  the  Office  shall   refer
27    complaints  to  the  appropriate regulatory State agency. The
28    Department, in consultation with the Office, shall  cooperate
29    with   the   Department   of   Human  Services  in  providing
30    information and training  to  designated  regional  sub-State
31    long  term  care  ombudsman  programs  about  the appropriate
32    assessment  and  treatment   (including   information   about
33    appropriate   supportive  services,  treatment  options,  and
34    assessment  of  rehabilitation  potential)  of  persons  with
 
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 1    mental illness (other than Alzheimer's  disease  and  related
 2    disorders).
 3        (d)  Access and visitation rights.
 4             (1)  In accordance with subparagraphs (A) and (E) of
 5        paragraph  (3)  of  subsection  (c)  of  Section 1819 and
 6        subparagraphs (A) and (E) of paragraph (3) of  subsection
 7        (c) of Section 1919 of the Social Security Act, as now or
 8        hereafter  amended  (42  U.S.C. 1395i-3 (c)(3)(A) and (E)
 9        and 42 U.S.C. 1396r (c)(3)(A) and (E)), and  Section  712
10        of  the  Older Americans Act of 1965, as now or hereafter
11        amended (42 U.S.C. 3058f), a  long  term  care  facility,
12        supportive     living     facility,    assisted    living
13        establishment, and shared housing establishment must:
14                  (i)  permit immediate access to any resident by
15             a designated an ombudsman; and
16                  (ii)  permit  representatives  of  the  Office,
17             with  the  permission  of   the   resident's   legal
18             representative  or  legal  guardian,  to  examine  a
19             resident's  clinical  and  other  records,  and if a
20             resident is unable to consent to  such  review,  and
21             has no legal guardian, permit representatives of the
22             Office   appropriate   access,  as  defined  by  the
23             Department, in  consultation  with  the  Office,  in
24             administrative rules, to the resident's records.
25             (2)  Each long term care facility, supportive living
26        facility,   assisted  living  establishment,  and  shared
27        housing  establishment  shall   display,   in   multiple,
28        conspicuous  public places within the facility accessible
29        to both visitors and residents patients and in an  easily
30        readable  format,  the  address  and  phone number of the
31        Office of the Long  Term  Care  Ombudsman,  in  a  manner
32        prescribed by the Office.
33        (e)  Immunity.  An  ombudsman or any other representative
34    of the Office participating in the good faith performance  of
 
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 1    his  or  her  official  duties  shall  have immunity from any
 2    liability (civil, criminal or otherwise) in  any  proceedings
 3    (civil,  criminal  or  otherwise) brought as a consequence of
 4    the performance of his official duties.
 5        (f)  Business offenses.
 6             (1)  No person shall:
 7                  (i)  Intentionally prevent, interfere with,  or
 8             attempt  to  impede in any way any representative of
 9             the Office in the performance of his official duties
10             under this Act and the Older Americans Act of  1965;
11             or
12                  (ii)  Intentionally   retaliate,   discriminate
13             against,  or  effect reprisals against any long term
14             care facility resident or employee for contacting or
15             providing information to any representative  of  the
16             Office.
17             (2)  A  violation  of  this  Section  is  a business
18        offense, punishable by a fine not to exceed $501.
19             (3)  The Director of Aging, in consultation with the
20        Office, shall notify the State's Attorney of  the  county
21        in  which  the long term care facility, supportive living
22        facility,  or   assisted   living   or   shared   housing
23        establishment is located, or the Attorney General, of any
24        violations of this Section.
25        (g)   Confidentiality  of  records  and  identities.  The
26    Department shall establish procedures for the  disclosure  by
27    the  State  Ombudsman  or  the regional ombudsmen entities of
28    files maintained by the program. The procedures shall provide
29    that the files and records  may  be  disclosed  only  at  the
30    discretion  of  the  State  Long  Term  Care Ombudsman or the
31    person designated by the  State  Ombudsman  to  disclose  the
32    files  and  records,  and  the  procedures shall prohibit the
33    disclosure of the  identity  of  any  complainant,  resident,
34    witness, or employee of a long term care provider unless:
 
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 1             (1)  the complainant, resident, witness, or employee
 2        of  a  long  term  care  provider  or  his  or  her legal
 3        representative consents to the disclosure and the consent
 4        is in writing;
 5             (2)  the complainant, resident, witness, or employee
 6        of a long term care provider gives  consent  orally;  and
 7        the consent is documented contemporaneously in writing in
 8        accordance with such requirements as the Department shall
 9        establish; or
10             (3)  the disclosure is required by court order.
11        No  files  or  records  maintained by the Office of State
12    Long Term Care Ombudsman shall be disclosed unless the  State
13    Ombudsman  or  the  ombudsman  having  the authority over the
14    disposition  of  such  files  authorizes  the  disclosure  in
15    writing. The ombudsman shall not disclose the identity of any
16    complainant, resident, witness or employee  of  a  long  term
17    care  provider involved in a  complaint or report unless such
18    person or such  person's  guardian  or  legal  representative
19    consents  in  writing to the disclosure, or the disclosure is
20    required by court order.
21        (h)  Legal representation.  The  Attorney  General  shall
22    provide  legal  representation  to  any representative of the
23    Office against whom suit or other legal action is brought  in
24    connection  with  the  performance  of  the  representative's
25    official  duties,  in  accordance  with  the  State  Employee
26    Indemnification Act.
27        (i)  Treatment  by prayer and spiritual means. Nothing in
28    this Act shall be  construed  to  authorize  or  require  the
29    medical  supervision,  regulation or control of remedial care
30    or treatment of any resident in a  long  term  care  facility
31    operated  exclusively  by and for members or adherents of any
32    church or religious denomination the tenets and practices  of
33    which  include  reliance  solely upon spiritual means through
34    prayer for healing.
 
HB1484 Engrossed            -7-      LRB093 07728 BDD 07916 b
 1    (Source: P.A. 90-639,  eff.  1-1-99;  91-174,  eff.  7-16-99;
 2    91-656, eff. 1-1-01; 91-799, eff. 6-13-00.)

 3        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
 4    becoming law.