Public Act 097-0866
 
SB0680 EnrolledLRB097 04946 ASK 44986 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Nursing Home Care Act is amended by changing
Section 3-206.05 as follows:
 
    (210 ILCS 45/3-206.05)
    Sec. 3-206.05. Safe resident handling policy.
    (a) In this Section:
    "Health care worker" means an individual providing direct
resident care services who may be required to lift, transfer,
reposition, or move a resident.
    "Nurse" means an advanced practice nurse, a registered
nurse, or a licensed practical nurse licensed under the Nurse
Practice Act.
    "Safe lifting equipment and accessories" means mechanical
equipment designed to lift, move, reposition, and transfer
residents, including, but not limited to, fixed and portable
ceiling lifts, sit-to-stand lifts, slide sheets and boards,
slings, and repositioning and turning sheets.
    "Safe lifting team" means at least 2 individuals who are
trained and proficient in the use of both safe lifting
techniques and safe lifting equipment and accessories.
    "Adjustable equipment" means products and devices that may
be adapted for use by individuals with physical and other
disabilities in order to optimize accessibility. Adjustable
equipment includes, but is not limited to, the following:
        (1) Wheelchairs with adjustable footrest height and
    seat width and depth.
        (2) Height-adjustable, drop-arm commode chairs and
    height-adjustable shower gurneys or shower benches to
    enable individuals with mobility disabilities to use a
    toilet and to shower safely and with increased comfort.
        (3) Accessible weight scales that accommodate
    wheelchair users.
        (4) Height-adjustable beds that can be lowered to
    accommodate individuals with mobility disabilities in
    getting in and out of bed and that utilize drop-down side
    railings for stability and positioning support.
        (5) Universally designed or adaptable call buttons and
    motorized bed position and height controls that can be
    operated by persons with limited or no reach range, fine
    motor ability, or vision.
        (6) Height-adjustable platform tables for physical
    therapy with drop-down side railings for stability and
    positioning support.
        (7) Therapeutic rehabilitation and exercise machines
    with foot straps to secure the user's feet to the pedals
    and with cuffs or splints to augment the user's grip
    strength on handles.
    (b) A facility must adopt and ensure implementation of a
policy to identify, assess, and develop strategies to control
risk of injury to residents and nurses and other health care
workers associated with the lifting, transferring,
repositioning, or movement of a resident. The policy shall
establish a process that, at a minimum, includes all of the
following:
        (1) Analysis of the risk of injury to residents and
    nurses and other health care workers taking into account
    the resident handling needs of the resident populations
    served by the facility and the physical environment in
    which the resident handling and movement occurs.
        (2) Education and training of nurses and other direct
    resident care providers in the identification, assessment,
    and control of risks of injury to residents and nurses and
    other health care workers during resident handling and on
    safe lifting policies and techniques and current lifting
    equipment.
        (3) Evaluation of alternative ways to reduce risks
    associated with resident handling, including evaluation of
    equipment and the environment.
        (4) Restriction, to the extent feasible with existing
    equipment and aids, of manual resident handling or movement
    of all or most of a resident's weight except for emergency,
    life-threatening, or otherwise exceptional circumstances.
        (5) Procedures for a nurse to refuse to perform or be
    involved in resident handling or movement that the nurse in
    good faith believes will expose a resident or nurse or
    other health care worker to an unacceptable risk of injury.
        (6) Development of strategies to control risk of injury
    to residents and nurses and other health care workers
    associated with the lifting, transferring, repositioning,
    or movement of a resident.
        (7) In developing architectural plans for construction
    or remodeling of a facility or unit of a facility in which
    resident handling and movement occurs, consideration of
    the feasibility of incorporating resident handling
    equipment or the physical space and construction design
    needed to incorporate that equipment.
        (8) Fostering and maintaining resident safety,
    dignity, self-determination, and choice, including the
    following policies, strategies, and procedures:
            (A) The existence and availability of a trained
        safe lifting team.
            (B) A policy of advising residents of a range of
        transfer and lift options, including adjustable
        diagnostic and treatment equipment, mechanical lifts,
        and provision of a trained safe lifting team.
            (C) The right of a competent resident, or the
        guardian of a resident adjudicated incompetent, to
        choose among the range of transfer and lift options
        consistent with the procedures set forth under
        subdivision (b)(5) and the policies set forth under
        this paragraph (8), subject to the provisions of
        subparagraph (E) of this paragraph (8).
            (D) Procedures for documenting, upon admission and
        as status changes, a mobility assessment and plan for
        lifting, transferring, repositioning, or movement of a
        resident, including the choice of the resident or the
        resident's guardian among the range of transfer and
        lift options.
            (E) Incorporation of such safe lifting procedures,
        techniques, and equipment as are consistent with
        applicable federal law.
    (c) Safe lifting teams must receive specialized, in-depth
training that includes, but need not be limited to, the
following:
        (1) Types and operation of equipment.
        (2) Safe manual lifting and moving techniques.
        (3) Ergonomic principles in the assessment of risk both
    to nurses and other workers and to residents.
        (4) The selection, safe use, location, and condition of
    appropriate pieces of equipment individualized to each
    resident's medical and physical conditions and
    preferences.
        (5) Procedures for advising residents of the full range
    of transfer and lift options and for documenting
    individualized lifting plans that include resident choice.
    Specialized, in-depth training may rely on federal
standards and guidelines such as the United States Department
of Labor Guidelines for Nursing Homes, supplemented by federal
requirements for barrier removal, independent access, and
means of accommodation optimizing independent movement and
transfer.
(Source: P.A. 96-389, eff. 1-1-10.)