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.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4598 LRB094 17125 DRJ 52413 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 Language Assistance Services Act is amended
5 by changing Section 15 as follows:
 
6     (210 ILCS 87/15)
7     Sec. 15. Language assistance services. To insure access to
8 health care information and services for
9 limited-English-speaking or non-English-speaking residents and
10 deaf residents, a health facility must do both one or more of
11 the following:
12         (1) Adopt and review annually a policy for providing
13     language assistance services to patients with language or
14     communication barriers. The policy shall include
15     procedures for providing, to the extent possible as
16     determined by the facility, the use of an interpreter
17     whenever a language or communication barrier exists,
18     except where the patient, after being informed of the
19     availability of the interpreter service, chooses to use a
20     family member or friend who volunteers to interpret. The
21     procedures shall be designed to maximize efficient use of
22     interpreters and minimize delays in providing interpreters
23     to patients. The procedures shall insure, to the extent
24     possible as determined by the facility, that interpreters
25     are available, either on the premises or accessible by
26     telephone, 24 hours a day. The facility shall annually
27     transmit to the Department of Public Health a copy of the
28     updated policy and shall include a description of the
29     facility's efforts to insure adequate and speedy
30     communication between patients with language or
31     communication barriers and staff. Review existing policies
32     regarding interpreters for patients with limited English

 

 

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1     proficiency and for patients who are deaf, including the
2     availability of staff to act as interpreters.
3         (2) Provide its nonbilingual staff with standardized
4     picture and phrase sheets for use in routine communications
5     with patients who have language or communication barriers.
6     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.
26     In addition, a health facility must do at least one of the
27 following:
28         (A) Review existing policies regarding interpreters
29     for patients with limited English proficiency and for
30     patients who are deaf, including the availability of staff
31     to act as interpreters.
32         (B) (3) Develop, and post in conspicuous locations,
33     notices that advise patients and their families of the
34     availability of interpreters, the procedure for obtaining
35     an interpreter, and the telephone numbers to call for
36     filing complaints concerning interpreter service problems,

 

 

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1     including, but not limited to, a T.D.D. number for the
2     hearing impaired. The notices shall be posted, at a
3     minimum, in the emergency room, the admitting area, the
4     facility entrance, and the outpatient area. Notices shall
5     inform patients that interpreter services are available on
6     request, shall list the languages for which interpreter
7     services are available, and shall instruct patients to
8     direct complaints regarding interpreter services to the
9     Department of Public Health, including the telephone
10     numbers to call for that purpose.
11         (C) (4) Identify and record a patient's primary
12     language and dialect on one or more of the following: a
13     patient medical chart, hospital bracelet, bedside notice,
14     or nursing card.
15         (D) (5) Prepare and maintain, as needed, a list of
16     interpreters who have been identified as proficient in sign
17     language and in the languages of the population of the
18     geographical area served by the facility who have the
19     ability to translate the names of body parts, injuries, and
20     symptoms.
21         (E) (6) Notify the facility's employees of the
22     facility's commitment to provide interpreters to all
23     patients who request them.
24         (F) (7) Review all standardized written forms,
25     waivers, documents, and informational materials available
26     to patients on admission to determine which to translate
27     into languages other than English.
28         (8) Consider providing its nonbilingual staff with
29     standardized picture and phrase sheets for use in routine
30     communications with patients who have language or
31     communication barriers.
32         (G) (9) Develop community liaison groups to enable the
33     facility and the limited-English-speaking,
34     non-English-speaking, and deaf communities to insure the
35     adequacy of the interpreter services.
36 (Source: P.A. 93-564, eff. 1-1-04.)
 

 

 

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