HB0595 Engrossed LRB094 07033 RSP 37173 b

1     AN ACT in relation to educational materials on hepatitis C
2 for veterans.
 
3     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
 
5     Section 5. The Department of Public Health Powers and
6 Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
7 amended by changing Section 2310-376 as follows:
 
8     (20 ILCS 2310/2310-376)
9     Sec. 2310-376. Hepatitis C education and outreach.
10     (a) The Illinois General Assembly finds and declares the
11 following:
12         (1) The World Health Organization characterizes
13     Hepatitis C as a disease of primary concern to humanity.
14         (2) Hepatitis C is considered a silent killer; no
15     recognizable signs or symptoms occur until severe liver
16     damage has occurred.
17         (3) Studies indicate that nearly 4 million Americans
18     (1.8 percent of the population) carry the virus HCV that
19     causes the disease.
20         (4) 30,000 acute new infections occur each year in the
21     United States, and only 25 to 30 percent are diagnosed.
22         (5) 8,000 to 10,000 Americans die from the disease each
23     year.
24         (6) 200,000 Illinois residents may be carriers and
25     could develop the debilitating and potentially deadly
26     liver disease.
27         (7) Inmates of correctional facilities have a higher
28     incidence of Hepatitis C and, upon their release, present a
29     significant health risk to the general population.
30         (8) Illinois members of the armed services are subject
31     to an increased risk of contracting Hepatitis C due to
32     their possible receipt of contaminated blood during a

 

 

HB0595 Engrossed - 2 - LRB094 07033 RSP 37173 b

1     transfusion occurring for the treatment of wounds and due
2     to their service in areas of the World where the disease is
3     more prevalent and healthcare is less capable of detecting
4     and treating the disease. Many of these service members are
5     unaware of the danger of Hepatitis C and their increased
6     risk of contracting the disease.
7     (b) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall conduct
8 an education and outreach campaign, in addition to its overall
9 effort to prevent infectious disease in Illinois, in order to
10 raise awareness about and promote prevention of Hepatitis C.
11     (c) In addition to the education and outreach campaign
12 provided in subsection (b), the Department shall develop and
13 make available to physicians, other health care providers,
14 members of the armed services, and other persons subject to an
15 increased risk of contracting Hepatitis C, educational
16 materials, in written and electronic forms, on the diagnosis,
17 treatment, and prevention of the disease. These materials shall
18 include the recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease
19 Control and Prevention and any other persons or entities
20 determined by the Department to have particular expertise on
21 Hepatitis C, including the American Liver Foundation. These
22 materials shall be written in terms that are understandable by
23 members of the general public.
24 (Source: P.A. 93-129, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
25     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
26 becoming law.