Public Act 095-0667
 		





SB0544 Enrolled
LRB095 08190 DRJ 28357 b






    AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

 
    Section 5. The Language Assistance Services Act is amended  
by changing Section 15 as follows:
 



    (210 ILCS 87/15)



    Sec. 15. Language assistance services. 
    (a) To insure access to
health care information and 
services for
limited-English-speaking or non-English-speaking 
residents and deaf residents,
a health facility must do one or 
more of the following:

        (1) Review existing policies regarding interpreters 
    for patients with
limited English proficiency and for 
    patients who are deaf, including the
availability of staff 
    to act as interpreters.

        (1)
(2) Adopt and review annually a policy for 
    providing language assistance
services to patients with 
    language or communication barriers.  The policy shall

    include procedures for providing, to the extent possible as 
    determined by the
facility, the use of an interpreter 
    whenever a language or communication
barrier
exists, 
    except where the patient, after being informed of the 
    availability of
the interpreter service, chooses to use a 
    family member or friend who
volunteers to interpret.  The 
    procedures shall be designed to maximize
efficient use of 
    interpreters and minimize delays in providing interpreters 
    to
patients.  The procedures shall insure, to the extent 
    possible as determined
by the facility, that
interpreters 
    are available, either on the premises or accessible by 
    telephone,
24 hours a day.  The facility shall annually 
    transmit to the Department of
Public Health a
copy of the 
    updated policy and shall include a description of the 
    facility's
efforts to
insure adequate and speedy 
    communication between patients with language or

    communication barriers and staff.

        (2)
(3) Develop, and post in conspicuous locations, 
    notices that advise patients
and their families of the 
    availability of interpreters, the procedure for
obtaining 
    an interpreter, and the telephone numbers to call for 
    filing
complaints concerning interpreter service problems, 
    including, but not limited
to, a
TTY number for persons who 
    are deaf or hard of hearing
T.D.D. number for the hearing 
    impaired.  The notices shall be posted, at a
minimum, in the 
    emergency room, the admitting area, the facility entrance, 
    and
the
outpatient area.  Notices shall inform patients that 
    interpreter services are
available on request, shall list 
    the languages most commonly encountered at the facility for 
    which interpreter services
are available, and shall 
    instruct patients to direct complaints regarding

    interpreter services to the Department of Public Health, 
    including the
telephone
numbers to call for that purpose.

        (4) Identify and record a patient's primary language 
    and dialect on one or
more of the following: a patient 
    medical chart, hospital bracelet,
bedside notice, or 
    nursing card.

        (5) Prepare and maintain, as needed, a list of 
    interpreters who have
been identified as proficient in sign 
    language and in the languages of the
population of the 
    geographical area served by the facility who have the

    ability to translate
the names of body parts, injuries, and 
    symptoms.

        (3)
(6) Notify the facility's employees of the language 
    services available at the facility and train them on how to 
    make those language services available to patients

    facility's commitment to provide
interpreters to
all 
    patients who request them.

    (b) In addition, a health facility may do one or more of 
the following:
        (1) Identify and record a patient's primary language 
    and dialect on one or more of the following: a patient 
    medical chart, hospital bracelet, bedside notice, or 
    nursing card.
        (2) Prepare and maintain, as needed, a list of 
    interpreters who have been identified as proficient in sign 
    language according to the Interpreters for the Deaf Act and 
    a list of the languages of the population of the 
    geographical area served by the facility.

        (3)
(7) Review all standardized written forms, 
    waivers, documents, and
informational materials available 
    to patients on admission to determine which
to translate 
    into languages other than English.

        (4)
(8) Consider providing its nonbilingual staff with 
    standardized picture and
phrase sheets for use in routine 
    communications with patients who have language
or 
    communication barriers.

        (5)
(9) Develop community liaison groups to enable the 
    facility and the
limited-English-speaking, 
    non-English-speaking, and deaf communities to insure
the 
    adequacy of the
interpreter services.

(Source: P.A. 93-564, eff. 1-1-04.)

 

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