HB5492 Engrossed

LRB095 15957 DRJ 41967 b






1
    AN ACT concerning regulation.

 
2
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
3
represented in the General Assembly:



 
4
    Section 5. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act 
5
is amended  by adding Section 32.6 as follows:
 
6
    (210 ILCS 50/32.6  new)
7
    Sec. 32.6. Freestanding Emergency Center; patient 
8
protection from abuse.
9
    (a) No administrator, agent, or employee of an FEC or a 
10
member of its medical staff may abuse a patient in the FEC.
11
    (b) Any FEC administrator, agent, employee, or medical 
12
staff member who has reasonable cause to believe that any 
13
patient with whom he or she has direct contact has been 
14
subjected to abuse in the FEC shall promptly report or cause a 
15
report to be made to a designated FEC administrator responsible 
16
for providing such reports to the Department as required by 
17
this Section.
18
    (c) Retaliation against a person who lawfully and in good 
19
faith makes a report under this Section is prohibited.
20
    (d) Upon receiving a report under subsection (b) of this 
21
Section, the FEC shall submit the report to the Department 
22
within 24 hours of obtaining such report.  In the event that the 
23
FEC receives multiple reports involving a single alleged 
 


 






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1
instance of abuse, the FEC shall submit one report to the 
2
Department.
3
    (e) Upon receiving a report under this Section, the FEC 
4
shall promptly conduct an internal review to ensure the alleged 
5
victim's safety.  Measures to protect the alleged victim shall 
6
be taken as deemed necessary by the FEC's administrator and may 
7
include, but are not limited to, removing suspected violators 
8
from further patient contact during the FEC's internal review. 
9
If the alleged victim lacks decision-making capacity under the 
10
Health Care Surrogate Act and no health care surrogate is 
11
available, the FEC may contact the Illinois Guardianship and 
12
Advocacy Commission to determine the need for a temporary 
13
guardian of that person.
14
    (f) All internal FEC reviews shall be conducted by a 
15
designated FEC employee or agent who is qualified to detect 
16
abuse and is not involved in the alleged victim's treatment.  
17
All internal review findings must be documented and filed 
18
according to FEC procedures and shall be made available to the 
19
Department upon request.
20
    (g) Any other person may make a report of patient abuse to 
21
the Department if that person has reasonable cause to believe 
22
that a patient has been abused in the FEC.
23
    (h) The report required under this Section shall include: 
24
the name of the patient; the name and address of the FEC 
25
treating the patient; the age of the patient; the nature of the 
26
patient's condition, including any evidence of previous 
 


 






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1
injuries or disabilities; and any other information that the 
2
reporter believes might be helpful in establishing the cause of 
3
the reported abuse and the identity of the person believed to 
4
have caused the abuse.
5
    (i) Any individual, person, institution, or agency 
6
participating in good faith in the making of a report under 
7
this Section, or in the investigation of such a report or in 
8
making a disclosure of information concerning reports of abuse 
9
under this Section, shall have immunity from any liability, 
10
whether civil, professional, or criminal, that otherwise might 
11
result by reason of such actions. For the purpose of any 
12
proceedings, whether civil, professional, or criminal, the 
13
good faith of any persons required to report cases of suspected 
14
abuse under this Section or who disclose information concerning 
15
reports of abuse in compliance with this Section, shall be 
16
presumed.
17
    (j) No administrator, agent, or employee of an FEC shall 
18
adopt or employ practices or procedures designed to discourage 
19
good faith reporting of patient abuse under this Section.
20
    (k) Every FEC shall ensure that all new and existing 
21
employees are trained  in the detection and reporting of abuse 
22
of patients and retrained at least  every 2 years thereafter.
23
    (l) The Department shall investigate each report of patient 
24
abuse made under this Section according to the procedures of 
25
the Department, except that a report of abuse which indicates 
26
that a patient's life or safety is in imminent danger shall be 
 


 






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1
investigated within 24 hours of such report.  Under no 
2
circumstances may an FEC's internal review of an allegation of 
3
abuse replace an investigation of the allegation by the 
4
Department.
5
    (m) The Department shall keep a continuing record of all 
6
reports made pursuant to this Section, including indications of 
7
the final determination of any investigation and the final 
8
disposition of all reports. The Department shall inform the 
9
investigated FEC and any other person making a report under 
10
subsection (g) of its final determination or disposition in 
11
writing.
12
    (n) The Department shall not disclose to the public any 
13
information regarding any reports and investigations under 
14
this Section unless and until the report of abuse is 
15
substantiated following a full and proper investigation.
16
    (o) All patient identifiable information in any report or 
17
investigation under this Section shall be confidential and 
18
shall not be disclosed except as authorized by this Act or 
19
other applicable law.
20
    (p) Nothing in this Section relieves an FEC administrator, 
21
employee, agent, or medical staff member from contacting 
22
appropriate law enforcement authorities as required by law.
23
    (q) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean that 
24
a patient is a victim of abuse because of health care services 
25
provided or not provided by health care professionals.
26
    (r) Nothing in this Section shall require an FEC, including 
 


 






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its employees, agents, and medical staff members, to provide 
2
any services to a patient in contravention of his or her stated 
3
or implied objection thereto upon grounds that such services 
4
conflict with his or her religious beliefs or practices, nor 
5
shall such a patient be considered abused under this Section 
6
for the exercise of such beliefs or practices.
7
    (s) As used in this Section, the following terms have the 
8
following meanings:
9
    "Abuse" means any physical or mental injury or sexual abuse 
10
intentionally inflicted by an FEC employee, agent, or medical 
11
staff member on a patient of the FEC and does not include any 
12
FEC, medical, health care, or other personal care services done 
13
in good faith in the interest of the patient according to 
14
established medical and clinical standards of care.
15
    "FEC" means a Freestanding Emergency Center licensed under 
16
Section 32.5. 
17
    "Mental injury" means intentionally caused  emotional 
18
distress in a patient from words or gestures that would be 
19
considered by a reasonable person to be  humiliating, harassing, 
20
or threatening and which causes observable and substantial 
21
impairment.
22
    "Sexual abuse" means any intentional act of sexual contact 
23
or sexual penetration of a patient in the hospital.
24
    "Substantiated", with respect to a report of abuse, means 
25
that a preponderance of the evidence indicates that abuse 
26
occurred.
 


 






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1
    (t) Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that 
2
may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head 
3
under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to 
4
make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions 
5
of this Section.  If, however, the Governor believes that rules 
6
are necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this 
7
Section, the Governor may suggest rules to the General Assembly 
8
by filing them with the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of 
9
the Senate and by requesting that the General Assembly 
10
authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those suggested rules 
11
into law, or take any other appropriate action in the General 
12
Assembly's discretion.  Nothing in this Section shall be 
13
interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other 
14
Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise 
15
explicitly given.  For the purposes of this Section, "rules" is 
16
given the meaning contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois 
17
Administrative Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" 
18
are given the meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of 
19
the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that 
20
such definitions apply to agencies and agency heads under the 
21
jurisdiction of the Governor.
 
22
    Section 10. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended  by 
23
changing Section 9 and  by adding Section 9.6 as follows:
 



24
    (210 ILCS 85/9)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 150)



 


 






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1
    Sec. 9. Inspections and investigations. The Department 
2
shall make or
cause
to be made such inspections and

3
investigations as it deems necessary, except that the 
4
Department shall investigate every allegation of abuse of a 
5
patient received by the Department. Information received by the

6
Department through filed reports, inspection, or as otherwise 
7
authorized
under this Act shall not be disclosed publicly in 
8
such manner as to
identify individuals or hospitals, except (i) 
9
in a proceeding involving the
denial, suspension, or revocation 
10
of a permit to establish a hospital or a
proceeding involving 
11
the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license to
open, 
12
conduct, operate, and maintain a hospital, (ii) to the 
13
Department of
Children and Family Services in the course of a 
14
child abuse or neglect
investigation conducted by that 
15
Department or by the Department of Public
Health, (iii) in 
16
accordance with Section 6.14a of this Act, or (iv)
in other 
17
circumstances as may be approved by the Hospital Licensing 
18
Board.

19
(Source: P.A. 90-608, eff. 6-30-98; 91-242, eff. 1-1-00.)

 
20
    (210 ILCS 85/9.6  new)
21
    Sec. 9.6. Patient protection from abuse.
22
    (a) No administrator, agent, or employee of a hospital or a 
23
member of its medical staff may abuse a patient in the 
24
hospital.
25
    (b) Any hospital administrator, agent, employee, or 
 


 






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1
medical staff member who has reasonable cause to believe that 
2
any patient with whom he or she has direct contact has been 
3
subjected to abuse in the hospital shall promptly report or 
4
cause a report to be made to a designated hospital 
5
administrator responsible for providing such reports to the 
6
Department as required by this Section.
7
    (c) Retaliation against a person who lawfully and in good 
8
faith makes a report under this Section is prohibited.
9
    (d) Upon receiving a report under subsection (b) of this 
10
Section, the hospital shall submit the report to the Department 
11
within 24 hours of obtaining such report.  In the event that the 
12
hospital receives multiple reports involving a single alleged 
13
instance of abuse, the hospital shall submit one report to the 
14
Department.
15
    (e) Upon receiving a report under this Section, the 
16
hospital shall promptly conduct an internal review to ensure 
17
the alleged victim's safety.  Measures to protect the alleged 
18
victim shall be taken as deemed necessary by the hospital's 
19
administrator and may include, but are not limited to, removing 
20
suspected violators from further patient contact during the 
21
hospital's internal review. If the alleged victim lacks 
22
decision-making capacity under the Health Care Surrogate Act 
23
and no health care surrogate is available, the hospital may 
24
contact the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission to 
25
determine the need for a temporary guardian of that person.
26
    (f) All internal hospital reviews shall be conducted by a 
 


 






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1
designated hospital employee or agent who is qualified to 
2
detect abuse and is not involved in the alleged victim's 
3
treatment.  All internal review findings must be documented and 
4
filed according to hospital procedures and shall be made 
5
available to the Department upon request.
6
    (g) Any other person may make a report of patient abuse to 
7
the Department if that person has reasonable cause to believe 
8
that a patient has been abused in the hospital.
9
    (h) The report required under this Section shall include: 
10
the name of the patient; the name and address of the hospital 
11
treating the patient; the age of the patient; the nature of the 
12
patient's condition, including any evidence of previous 
13
injuries or disabilities; and any other information that the 
14
reporter believes might be helpful in establishing the cause of 
15
the reported abuse and the identity of the person believed to 
16
have caused the abuse.
17
    (i) Any individual, person, institution, or agency 
18
participating in good faith in the making of a report under 
19
this Section, or in the investigation of such a report or in 
20
making a disclosure of information concerning reports of abuse 
21
under this Section, shall have immunity from any liability, 
22
whether civil, professional, or criminal, that otherwise might 
23
result by reason of such actions. For the purpose of any 
24
proceedings, whether civil, professional, or criminal, the 
25
good faith of any persons required to report cases of suspected 
26
abuse under this Section or who disclose information concerning 
 


 






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LRB095 15957 DRJ 41967 b




1
reports of abuse in compliance with this Section, shall be 
2
presumed.
3
    (j) No administrator, agent, or employee of a hospital 
4
shall adopt or employ practices or procedures designed to 
5
discourage good faith reporting of patient abuse under this 
6
Section.
7
    (k) Every hospital shall ensure that all new and existing 
8
employees are trained  in the detection and reporting of abuse 
9
of patients and retrained at least  every 2 years thereafter.
10
    (l) The Department shall investigate each report of patient 
11
abuse made under this Section according to the procedures of 
12
the Department, except that a report of abuse which indicates 
13
that a patient's life or safety is in imminent danger shall be 
14
investigated within 24 hours of such report.  Under no 
15
circumstances may a hospital's internal review of an allegation 
16
of abuse replace an investigation of the allegation by the 
17
Department.
18
    (m) The Department shall keep a continuing record of all 
19
reports made pursuant to this Section, including indications of 
20
the final determination of any investigation and the final 
21
disposition of all reports. The Department shall inform the 
22
investigated hospital and any other person making a report 
23
under subsection (g) of its final determination or disposition 
24
in writing.
25
    (n) The Department shall not disclose to the public any 
26
information regarding any reports and investigations under 
 


 






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1
this Section unless and until the report of abuse is 
2
substantiated following a full and proper investigation.
3
    (o) All patient identifiable information in any report or 
4
investigation under this Section shall be confidential and 
5
shall not be disclosed except as authorized by this Act or 
6
other applicable law.
7
    (p) Nothing in this Section relieves a hospital 
8
administrator, employee, agent, or medical staff member from 
9
contacting appropriate law enforcement authorities as required 
10
by law.
11
    (q) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean that 
12
a patient is a victim of abuse because of health care services 
13
provided or not provided by health care professionals.
14
    (r) Nothing in this Section shall require a hospital, 
15
including its employees, agents, and medical staff members, to 
16
provide any services to a patient in contravention of his or 
17
her stated or implied objection thereto upon grounds that such 
18
services conflict with his or her religious beliefs or 
19
practices, nor shall such a patient be considered abused under 
20
this Section for the exercise of such beliefs or practices.
21
    (s) As used in this Section, the following terms have the 
22
following meanings:
23
    "Abuse" means any physical or mental injury or sexual abuse 
24
intentionally inflicted by a hospital employee, agent, or 
25
medical staff member on a patient of the hospital and does not 
26
include any hospital, medical, health care, or other personal 
 


 






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1
care services done in good faith in the interest of the patient 
2
according to established medical and clinical standards of 
3
care.
4
    "Mental injury" means intentionally caused  emotional 
5
distress in a patient from words or gestures that would be 
6
considered by a reasonable person to be  humiliating, harassing, 
7
or threatening and which causes observable and substantial 
8
impairment.
9
    "Sexual abuse" means any intentional act of sexual contact 
10
or sexual penetration of a patient in the hospital.
11
    "Substantiated", with respect to a report of abuse,  means 
12
that a preponderance of the evidence indicates that abuse 
13
occurred.
14
    (t) Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that 
15
may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head 
16
under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to 
17
make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions 
18
of this Section.  If, however, the Governor believes that rules 
19
are necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this 
20
Section, the Governor may suggest rules to the General Assembly 
21
by filing them with the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of 
22
the Senate and by requesting that the General Assembly 
23
authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those suggested rules 
24
into law, or take any other appropriate action in the General 
25
Assembly's discretion.  Nothing in this Section shall be 
26
interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other 
 


 






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1
Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise 
2
explicitly given.  For the purposes of this Section, "rules" is 
3
given the meaning contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois 
4
Administrative Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" 
5
are given the meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of 
6
the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that 
7
such definitions apply to agencies and agency heads under the 
8
jurisdiction of the Governor.