94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB4598


 
Introduced 01/11/06, by Rep. William Delgado
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 		














210 ILCS 87/15









    Amends the Language Assistance Services Act. Provides that a hospital or nursing home (i) must adopt and review annually a policy for providing language assistance services to patients with language or communication barriers and (ii) must provide its nonbilingual staff with standardized picture and phrase sheets for use in routine communications with patients who have language or communication barriers (instead of having those 2 activities as options). Provides that a hospital or nursing home must also do at least one of the remaining 7 specified activities (instead of providing that a hospital or nursing home must do one or more of 9 specified activities). Effective immediately.
















LRB094 17125 DRJ 52413 b

















FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
















 


 


A BILL FOR









 











HB4598

LRB094 17125 DRJ 52413 b






1
    AN ACT concerning regulation.

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


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



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    (210 ILCS 87/15)



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    Sec. 15. Language assistance services. To insure access to

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health care information and services for

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limited-English-speaking or non-English-speaking residents and 
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deaf residents,
a health facility must do both
one or more of 
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the following:

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        (1) Adopt and review annually a policy for providing 
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    language assistance
services to patients with language or 
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    communication barriers.  The policy shall
include 
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    procedures for providing, to the extent possible as 
16
    determined by the
facility, the use of an interpreter 
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    whenever a language or communication
barrier
exists, 
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    except where the patient, after being informed of the 
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    availability of
the interpreter service, chooses to use a 
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    family member or friend who
volunteers to interpret.  The 
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    procedures shall be designed to maximize
efficient use of 
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    interpreters and minimize delays in providing interpreters 
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    to
patients.  The procedures shall insure, to the extent 
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    possible as determined
by the facility, that
interpreters 
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    are available, either on the premises or accessible by 
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    telephone,
24 hours a day.  The facility shall annually 
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    transmit to the Department of
Public Health a
copy of the 
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    updated policy and shall include a description of the 
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    facility's
efforts to
insure adequate and speedy 
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    communication between patients with language or

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    communication barriers and staff.
Review existing policies 
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    regarding interpreters for patients with
limited English 
 


 






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    proficiency and for patients who are deaf, including the

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    availability of staff to act as interpreters.

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        (2) Provide its nonbilingual staff with standardized 
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    picture and
phrase sheets for use in routine communications 
5
    with patients who have language
or communication barriers.

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    Adopt and review annually a policy for providing language 
7
    assistance
services to patients with language or 
8
    communication barriers.  The policy shall
include 
9
    procedures for providing, to the extent possible as 
10
    determined by the
facility, the use of an interpreter 
11
    whenever a language or communication
barrier
exists, 
12
    except where the patient, after being informed of the 
13
    availability of
the interpreter service, chooses to use a 
14
    family member or friend who
volunteers to interpret.  The 
15
    procedures shall be designed to maximize
efficient use of 
16
    interpreters and minimize delays in providing interpreters 
17
    to
patients.  The procedures shall insure, to the extent 
18
    possible as determined
by the facility, that
interpreters 
19
    are available, either on the premises or accessible by 
20
    telephone,
24 hours a day.  The facility shall annually 
21
    transmit to the Department of
Public Health a
copy of the 
22
    updated policy and shall include a description of the 
23
    facility's
efforts to
insure adequate and speedy 
24
    communication between patients with language or

25
    communication barriers and staff.

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    In addition, a health facility must do at least one of the 
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following:

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

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        (B)
(3) Develop, and post in conspicuous locations, 
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    notices that advise patients
and their families of the 
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    availability of interpreters, the procedure for
obtaining 
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    an interpreter, and the telephone numbers to call for 
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    filing
complaints concerning interpreter service problems, 
 


 






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    including, but not limited
to, a
T.D.D. number for the 
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    hearing impaired.  The notices shall be posted, at a

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    minimum, in the emergency room, the admitting area, the 
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    facility entrance, and
the
outpatient area.  Notices shall 
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    inform patients that interpreter services are
available on 
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    request, shall list the languages for which interpreter 
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    services
are available, and shall instruct patients to 
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    direct complaints regarding
interpreter services to the 
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    Department of Public Health, including the
telephone

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    numbers to call for that purpose.

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

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

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

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        (E)
(6) Notify the facility's employees of the 
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    facility's commitment to provide
interpreters to
all 
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    patients who request them.

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

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

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

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

 

 


 






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