Section 1125.320  Office of Health Care Regulation

a)         The Office of Health Care Regulation is composed of the Division of Administration and Technical Support, Bureau of Long-Term Care, Bureau of Hospitals and Ambulatory Services, Division of Emergency Medical Services and Highway Safety, and the Division of Administrative Rules and Procedures.  The Bureau of Hospitals and Ambulatory Services is composed of the Division of Health Care Facilities and Programs and the Central Complaint Registry.  The Bureau of Long-Term Care is composed of the Division of Long-Term Care Field Operations, the Division of Long-Term Care Quality Assurance, and the Education and Training Section.  Each of these Divisions is responsible for administering a variety of regulatory public health programs that are directed towards ensuring quality care in health care facilities and health care delivery organizations.

b)         The following regulatory, preventive, and enforcement activities are administered by Divisions within the Office of Health Care Regulation:

1)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for State licensure and Medicare and Medicaid certification for long-term care facilities to ensure that services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met.

2)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for State licensure and Medicare and Medicaid  certification for hospitals to ensure that services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met.

3)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for State licensure and Medicare certification for home health agencies to ensure that services and staffing standards are met.

4)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for State licensure and Medicare certification for ambulatory surgical treatment centers (ASTC) to ensure that services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met.

5)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for Medicare  certification for physical therapists in independent practice, outpatient physical therapy programs, outpatient speech pathology programs, portable x-ray providers, and  rural health clinics  to ensure that services and staffing standards are met.

6)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for Medicare certification for end stage renal dialysis centers (ESRD) to ensure that services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met.

7)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for State licensure and Medicare certification for hospice programs and hospice residences  to ensure that services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met.

8)         Regulate health maintenance organizations.

9)         To ensure services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met, conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for State licensure under the Alternative Health Care Delivery Act [210 ILCS 2] for the following authorized models: subacute care hospital demonstration programs, postsurgical recovery care center demonstration programs, community-based residential rehabilitation center demonstration programs, and children's respite care center demonstration programs.

10)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for State licensure  for community living facilities and supportive residences to ensure that services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met.

11)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for certification of clinical laboratories, blood banks, and tissue and sperm banks to ensure that services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met.

12)         Review and approve construction plans for health care facilities to ensure that physical plant standards are met.

13)         Serve as the agent of the Health Care Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, to determine compliance with Federal Conditions of Participation under the Medicare program and as the agent of the Department of Public Aid to determine compliance under the Medicaid program.

14)         Approve training programs and regulate the training of certified nursing assistants.

15)         Maintain and report the status of individuals on the Nurse Aide Registry.

16)         Administer the Health Care Worker Background Check Act [225 ILCS 46] for health care facilities licensed by the Department.

17)         Inspect and license ambulance providers and Specialized Emergency Medical Services Vehicle Programs.

18)         License Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT).

19)         Register First Responders and Emergency Medical Dispatchers.

20)         Recognize Poison Control Centers.

21)         Administer the rural ambulance grant.

22)         Inspect and designate trauma centers.

23)         Establish Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Regions, approve EMS regional plans, and approve EMS Systems.

24)         Conduct inspections, including complaint investigations, for State licensure of freestanding emergency centers to ensure that services, staffing, and physical plant standards are met.

25)         Approve EMS Lead Instructors, Pre-hospital Registered Nurses, and Emergency Communications Registered Nurses.

26)         Provide certification of Trauma Nurse Specialists and designation of Trauma Nurse Specialist training sites.

27)         Provide restaurants with posters that demonstrate choke-saving procedures.

28)         Maintain a 24-hour-a-day hotline to receive complaints about licensed or certified health care facilities.

29)         Collect and disseminate data related to trauma, head and spinal cord injuries, and violent injuries.

30)         Establish licensing standards for  the programs and facilities listed in subsection (b)(1) through (29).

31)         Maintain a pre-hospital computerized reporting system.

32)         Administer a comprehensive pediatric emergency care system.

33)         Address issues related to State medical disasters and emergency preparedness and responses to biochemical threats and weapons of mass destruction.

c)         The Office also administers other regulatory, preventive, and enforcement activities provided by the Department by law.

(Source:  Amended at 24 Ill. Reg. 4964, effective March 20, 2000)