Public Act 095-0620
 		





HB1301 Enrolled
LRB095 09543 CMK 29742 b






    AN ACT concerning State government.

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


 
    Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended  by 
changing Section 4.04 as follows:
 



    (20 ILCS 105/4.04)  (from Ch. 23, par. 6104.04)



    Sec. 4.04. Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. 

    (a) Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. The Department shall

establish a Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, through the 
Office of State
Long Term Care Ombudsman ("the Office"), in 
accordance with the provisions of
the Older Americans Act of 
1965, as now or hereafter amended.

    (b) Definitions. As used in this Section, unless the 
context requires
otherwise:


        (1) "Access" has the same meaning as in Section 1-104 
    of the Nursing
Home Care Act, as now or hereafter amended; 
    that is, it means the right to:


            (i) Enter any long term care facility or assisted 
        living or shared
housing establishment or supportive 
        living facility;


            (ii) Communicate privately and without restriction 
        with any resident, regardless of age,
who consents to 
        the communication;


            (iii) Seek consent to communicate privately and 
        without restriction
with any resident, regardless of 
        age;


            (iv) Inspect the clinical and other records of a 
        resident, regardless of age, with the
express written 
        consent of the resident;


            (v) Observe all areas of the long term care 
        facility or supportive
living facilities, assisted 
        living or shared housing establishment except the

        living area of any resident who protests the 
        observation.


        (2) "Long Term Care Facility" means (i) any facility as 
    defined by Section
1-113 of the Nursing Home Care Act, as 
    now or hereafter amended; and (ii) any
skilled nursing 
    facility or a nursing facility which meets the
requirements 
    of Section 1819(a), (b), (c), and (d) or Section 1919(a), 
    (b),
(c), and (d) of the Social Security Act, as now or 
    hereafter amended (42
U.S.C. 1395i-3(a), (b), (c), and (d) 
    and 42 U.S.C. 1396r(a), (b), (c), and
(d)).


        (2.5) "Assisted living establishment" and "shared 
    housing establishment"
have the meanings given those terms 
    in Section 10 of the Assisted Living and
Shared Housing 
    Act.


        (2.7) "Supportive living facility" means a facility 
    established under
Section 5-5.01a of the Illinois Public 
    Aid Code.


        (3) "State Long Term Care Ombudsman" means any person 
    employed by the
Department to fulfill
the requirements of 
    the Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman as
required 
    under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as now or hereafter 
    amended,
and Departmental policy.


        (3.1) "Ombudsman" means any designated representative 
    of a regional long
term care ombudsman program; provided 
    that the representative, whether he is
paid for or 
    volunteers his ombudsman services, shall be qualified and

    designated by the Office to perform the duties of an 
    ombudsman as specified by
the Department in rules and in 
    accordance with the provisions of
the Older Americans Act 
    of 1965, as now or hereafter amended.

    (c) Ombudsman; rules. The Office of State Long Term Care 
Ombudsman shall
be composed of at least one full-time ombudsman 
and shall include a system of
designated regional long term 
care ombudsman programs. Each regional program
shall be 
designated by the State Long Term Care Ombudsman as a 
subdivision of
the Office and any representative of a regional 
program shall be treated as a
representative of the Office.

    The Department, in consultation with the Office, shall 
promulgate
administrative rules in accordance with the 
provisions of the Older Americans
Act of 1965, as now or 
hereafter amended, to establish the responsibilities of
the 
Department and the Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman and 
the
designated regional Ombudsman programs. The administrative 
rules shall include
the responsibility of the Office and 
designated regional programs to
investigate and resolve 
complaints made by or on behalf of residents of long
term care 
facilities, supportive living facilities, and assisted living 
and
shared housing establishments, including the option to 
serve residents under the age of 60, relating to actions, 
inaction, or
decisions of providers, or their representatives, 
of long term care
facilities, of supported living facilities, 
of assisted living and shared
housing establishments, of public 
agencies, or of social services agencies,
which may adversely 
affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of such

residents. The Office and designated regional programs may 
represent all residents, but are not required by this Act to 
represent persons under 60 years of age, except to the extent 
required by federal law.
When necessary and appropriate, 
representatives of the Office shall refer
complaints to the 
appropriate regulatory State agency.
The Department, in 
consultation with the Office, shall cooperate with the

Department of Human Services and other State agencies in 
providing information and training to
designated regional long 
term care ombudsman programs about the appropriate
assessment 
and treatment (including information about appropriate 
supportive
services, treatment options, and assessment of 
rehabilitation potential) of the residents they serve, 
including children,
persons with mental illness (other than 
Alzheimer's disease and related
disorders), and persons with 
developmental disabilities.
    The State Long Term Care Ombudsman and all other ombudsmen, 
as defined in paragraph (3.1) of subsection (b)  must submit to 
background checks under the Health Care Worker Background Check 
Act and receive training, as prescribed by the Illinois 
Department on Aging, before visiting facilities.  The training 
must include information specific to assisted living 
establishments, supportive living facilities, and shared 
housing establishments and to the rights of residents 
guaranteed under the corresponding Acts and administrative 
rules.


    (d) Access and visitation rights.


        (1) In accordance with subparagraphs (A) and (E) of 
    paragraph (3) of
subsection (c) of Section 1819
and 
    subparagraphs (A) and (E) of paragraph (3) of subsection 
    (c) of Section
1919 of the Social Security Act, as now or 
    hereafter amended (42 U.S.C.
1395i-3 (c)(3)(A) and (E) and 
    42 U.S.C. 1396r (c)(3)(A) and (E)), and
Section
712 of the 
    Older Americans Act of 1965, as now or hereafter
amended 
    (42 U.S.C. 3058f), a long term care facility, supportive 
    living
facility, assisted living
establishment, and shared 
    housing establishment must:


            (i) permit immediate access to any resident, 
        regardless of age, by a designated
ombudsman; and


            (ii) permit representatives of the Office, with 
        the permission of the
resident's legal representative 
        or legal guardian, to examine a resident's
clinical and 
        other records, regardless of the age of the resident, 
        and if a resident is unable to consent to such
review, 
        and has no legal guardian, permit representatives of 
        the Office
appropriate access, as defined by the 
        Department, in consultation with the
Office, in 
        administrative rules, to the resident's records.


        (2) Each long term care facility, supportive living 
    facility, assisted
living establishment, and
shared 
    housing establishment shall display, in multiple, 
    conspicuous
public places within the facility accessible 
    to both visitors and residents and
in an easily readable 
    format, the address and phone number of the Office of the

    Long Term Care Ombudsman, in a manner prescribed by the 
    Office.

    (e) Immunity. An ombudsman or any representative of the 
Office participating
in the good faith performance of his or 
her official duties
shall have immunity from any liability 
(civil, criminal or otherwise) in
any proceedings (civil, 
criminal or otherwise) brought as a consequence of
the 
performance of his official duties.

    (f) Business offenses.


        (1) No person shall:


            (i) Intentionally prevent, interfere with, or 
        attempt to impede in any
way any representative of the 
        Office in the performance of his
official
duties under 
        this Act and the Older Americans Act of 1965; or


            (ii) Intentionally retaliate, discriminate 
        against, or effect reprisals
against any long term care 
        facility resident or employee for contacting or

        providing information to any representative of the 
        Office.


        (2) A violation of this Section is a business offense, 
    punishable by a
fine not to exceed $501.


        (3) The Director of Aging, in consultation with the 
    Office, shall
notify the State's Attorney of the
county in 
    which the long term care facility, supportive living 
    facility, or
assisted living or shared housing 
    establishment is located,
or the Attorney General, of any 
    violations of this Section.

    (g) Confidentiality of records and identities. The 
Department shall
establish procedures for the disclosure by the 
State Ombudsman or the regional
ombudsmen
entities of files 
maintained by the program. The procedures shall provide that

the files and records may be disclosed only at the discretion 
of the State Long
Term Care
Ombudsman or the person designated 
by the State Ombudsman to disclose the files
and records, and 
the procedures shall prohibit the disclosure of the identity
of 
any complainant, resident, witness, or employee of a long term 
care provider
unless:


        (1) the complainant, resident, witness, or employee of 
    a long term care
provider or his or her legal 
    representative consents to the disclosure and the
consent 
    is in writing;


        (2) the complainant, resident, witness, or employee of 
    a long term care
provider gives consent orally; and the 
    consent is documented contemporaneously
in writing in

    accordance with such requirements as the Department shall 
    establish; or


        (3) the disclosure is required by court order.

    (h) Legal representation. The Attorney General shall

provide legal representation to any representative of the 
Office
against
whom suit or other legal action is brought in 
connection with the
performance of the representative's 
official duties, in accordance with the
State Employee 
Indemnification Act.

    (i) Treatment by prayer and spiritual means. Nothing in 
this Act shall
be construed to authorize or require the medical 
supervision, regulation
or control of remedial care or 
treatment of any resident in a long term
care facility operated 
exclusively by and for members or adherents of any
church or 
religious denomination the tenets and practices of which 
include
reliance solely upon spiritual means through prayer for 
healing.

(Source: P.A. 93-241, eff. 7-22-03; 93-878, eff. 1-1-05.)

 

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