Public Act 93-0241

HB1484 Enrolled                      LRB093 07728 BDD 07916 b

    AN ACT concerning senior citizens.

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

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

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

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