SB2726 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 19921 BDD 45664 b

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
SB2726

Introduced 2/4/2004, by Iris Y. Martinez

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 105/4.04	from Ch. 23, par. 6104.04
225 ILCS 46/15

Amends the Illinois Act on the Aging. Provides that regional long term care ombudsman programs may use trained volunteers to make routine visits to facilities licensed or certified under the Nursing Home Care Act, the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, and the Social Security Act or to any other facility for which long term care ombudsmen are obligated to visit either by federal or State law. Sets forth requirements for the volunteers. Amends the Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Includes a trained-volunteer program operated by a regional long term care ombudsman program within the definition of "health care employer". Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning the Department on Aging.

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 any designated representative of a regional 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 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 and shall include a system of designated regional long term care ombudsman programs. Each regional program shall be designated by the State Long Term Care Ombudsman as a subdivision of the Office and any representative of a regional 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 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).

Regional long term care ombudsman programs may use trained volunteers to make routine visits to facilities licensed or certified under the Nursing Home Care Act, the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, and the Social Security Act or to any other facility for which long term care ombudsman are obligated to visit either by federal or State law. Volunteers may not be used to investigate or resolve complaints where a violation of federal or State law is at issue. All volunteers must submit to background checks under the Health Care Worker Background Check Act and receive training, as prescribed by the Illinois Department on Aging, before visiting facilities. The training must include information specific to assisted living establishments, supportive living facilities, and shared housing establishments and to the rights of residents guaranteed under the corresponding Acts and administrative rules.

(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 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 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 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.

(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. 93-241, eff. 7-22-03.)

Section 10. The Health Care Worker Background Check Act is amended by changing Section 15 as follows:

(225 ILCS 46/15)

Sec. 15. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:

"Applicant" means an individual seeking employment with a health care employer who has received a bona fide conditional offer of employment.

"Conditional offer of employment" means a bona fide offer of employment by a health care employer to an applicant, which is contingent upon the receipt of a report from the Department of State Police indicating that the applicant does not have a record of conviction of any of the criminal offenses enumerated in Section 25.

"Direct care" means the provision of nursing care or assistance with feeding, dressing, movement, bathing, toileting, or other personal needs. The entity responsible for inspecting and licensing, certifying, or registering the health care employer may, by administrative rule, prescribe guidelines for interpreting this definition with regard to the health care employers that it licenses.

"Health care employer" means:

(1) the owner or licensee of any of the following:

(i) a community living facility, as defined in the Community Living Facilities Act;

(ii) a life care facility, as defined in the Life Care Facilities Act;

(iii) a long-term care facility, as defined in the Nursing Home Care Act;

(iv) a home health agency, as defined in the Home Health Agency Licensing Act;

(v) a full hospice, as defined in the Hospice Program Licensing Act;

(vi) a hospital, as defined in the Hospital Licensing Act;

(vii) a community residential alternative, as defined in the Community Residential Alternatives Licensing Act;

(viii) a nurse agency, as defined in the Nurse Agency Licensing Act;

(ix) a respite care provider, as defined in the Respite Program Act;

(ix-a) an establishment licensed under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act;

(x) a supportive living program, as defined in the Illinois Public Aid Code;

(xi) early childhood intervention programs as described in 59 Ill. Adm. Code 121;

(xii) the University of Illinois Hospital, Chicago;

(xiii) programs funded by the Department on Aging through the Community Care Program;

(xiv) programs certified to participate in the Supportive Living Program authorized pursuant to Section 5-5.01a of the Illinois Public Aid Code;

(xv) programs listed by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act as Freestanding Emergency Centers;

(xvi) locations licensed under the Alternative Health Care Delivery Act;

(2) a day training program certified by the Department of Human Services; or

(3) a community integrated living arrangement operated by a community mental health and developmental service agency, as defined in the Community-Integrated Living Arrangements Licensing and Certification Act; or

(4) a trained-volunteer program operated by a regional long term care ombudsman program under Section 4.04 of the Illinois Act on the Aging.

"Initiate" means the obtaining of the authorization for a record check from a student, applicant, or employee. The educational entity or health care employer or its designee shall transmit all necessary information and fees to the Illinois State Police within 10 working days after receipt of the authorization.

(Source: P.A. 91-598, eff. 1-1-00; 91-656, eff. 1-1-01; 92-16, eff. 6-28-01.)

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