102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2251

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Sue Rezin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 2805/2.01c

    Amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act. Defines "outbreak". Provides that if a Veterans Home administrator or a member of the administrative staff is notified that an outbreak has occurred, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of Public Health shall conduct an onsite visit to assess the status of the spread and determine if any additional actions can be taken to lessen exposure to the disease. Provides that the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Department of Public Health are to conduct the site visit as soon as practical, but in no event shall the visit be delayed later than the end of the next business day. Requires the Department of Veterans' Affairs to post specific information on its website upon conducting a site visit.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning veterans.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Department of Veterans' Affairs Act is
5amended by changing Section 2.01c as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 2805/2.01c)
7    Sec. 2.01c. Veterans Home; notice of infectious disease.
8    (a) As used in this Section, "infectious disease" means
9any disease caused by a living organism or other pathogen,
10including a fungus, bacteria, parasite, protozoan, prion, or
11virus, that has a history of or potential for a significant
12mortality rate among elderly or vulnerable populations,
13including, but not limited to, strains of influenza,
14Legionnaires' disease, coronavirus and pneumonia.
15    (a-1) As used in this Section, "outbreak" means 2 or more
16individuals, employees, staff, or residents living within or
17employed by the Veterans Home contracting an infectious
18disease within 48 hours of the first diagnosis.
19    (b) If a Veterans Home administrator or a member of the
20administrative staff is notified that, within one month or
21less, 2 or more persons residing within the Veterans Home are
22diagnosed with an infectious disease by a physician licensed
23to practice medicine in all its branches; a hospital licensed

 

 

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1under the Hospital Licensing Act or organized under the
2University of Illinois Hospital Act; a long-term care facility
3licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act; a freestanding
4emergency center licensed under the Emergency Medical Services
5(EMS) Systems Act; a local health department; or any other
6State agency or government entity, then, within 24 hours after
7the facility is notified of the second diagnosis, the Veterans
8Home must:
9        (1) provide a written notification of the incidence of
10    the infectious disease to each resident of the facility
11    and the resident's emergency contact or next of kin;
12        (2) post a notification of the incidence of the
13    infectious disease in a conspicuous place near the main
14    entrance to the Veterans Home; and
15        (3) provide a written notification to the Department
16    of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of Public Health
17    of the incidence of the infectious disease and of
18    compliance with the written notification requirements of
19    paragraph (1).
20    In addition to the initial written notifications, the
21Veterans Home must provide written notifications of any
22updates on the incidence of the infectious disease and any
23options that are available to the residents.
24    The Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of
25Public Health must post the notification of the incidence of
26the infectious disease, any updates, and any options that are

 

 

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1available to the residents on their websites as soon as
2practicable after receiving the notification, but in no event
3shall the notice be posted later than the end of the next
4business day.
5    (c) If a Veterans Home administrator or a member of the
6administrative staff is notified that an outbreak has
7occurred, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the
8Department of Public Health shall conduct an onsite visit to
9assess the status of the spread and determine if any
10additional actions can be taken to lessen exposure to the
11disease. The Department of Veterans' Affairs and Department of
12Public Health are to conduct the visit as soon as practical,
13but in no event shall the visit be delayed later than the end
14of the next business day.
15    Upon conducting the site visit, the Department of
16Veterans' Affairs shall post on its website:
17        (i) the findings of the onsite inspection;
18        (ii) the corrections needed to fix any disparities or
19    discrepancies in procedure found;
20        (iii) the date or dates of the next onsite inspection
21    to determine if the appropriate actions and visit
22    recommendations have been taken; and
23        (iv) any and all initial and follow-up reports from
24    the initial site visit.
25(Source: P.A. 100-632, eff. 7-27-18.)