Public Act 097-0866
 
SB0680 EnrolledLRB097 04946 ASK 44986 b



    AN ACT concerning regulation.

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



 
 
    Section 5. The Nursing Home Care Act is amended  by changing 
Section 3-206.05 as follows:
 
    (210 ILCS 45/3-206.05)
    Sec. 3-206.05. Safe resident handling policy.
    (a) In this Section:
    "Health care worker" means an individual providing direct 
resident care services who may be required to lift, transfer, 
reposition, or move a resident.
    "Nurse" means an advanced practice nurse, a registered 
nurse, or a licensed practical nurse licensed under the Nurse 
Practice Act.
    "Safe lifting equipment and accessories" means mechanical

equipment designed to lift, move, reposition, and transfer

residents, including, but not limited to, fixed and portable

ceiling lifts, sit-to-stand lifts, slide sheets and boards,

slings, and repositioning and turning sheets.
    "Safe lifting team" means at least 2 individuals who are

trained and proficient in the use of both safe lifting 
techniques and safe
lifting equipment and accessories.
    "Adjustable equipment" means products and devices that may 
be adapted for use by individuals with physical and other 
disabilities in order to optimize accessibility.  Adjustable 
equipment includes, but is not limited to, the following:
        (1) Wheelchairs with adjustable footrest height and 
    seat width and depth.
        (2)  Height-adjustable, drop-arm commode chairs and 
    height-adjustable shower gurneys or shower benches to 
    enable individuals with mobility disabilities to use a 
    toilet and to shower safely and with increased comfort.
        (3) Accessible weight scales that accommodate 
    wheelchair users.
        (4) Height-adjustable beds that can be lowered to 
    accommodate individuals with mobility disabilities in 
    getting in and out of bed and that utilize drop-down side 
    railings for stability and positioning support.
        (5) Universally designed or adaptable call buttons and 
    motorized bed position and height controls that can be 
    operated by persons with limited or no reach range, fine 
    motor ability, or vision.
        (6) Height-adjustable platform tables for physical 
    therapy with drop-down side railings for stability and 
    positioning support.
        (7) Therapeutic rehabilitation and exercise machines 
    with foot straps to secure the user's feet to the pedals 
    and with cuffs or splints to augment the user's grip 
    strength on handles.
    (b) A facility must adopt and ensure implementation of a 
policy to identify, assess, and develop strategies to control 
risk of injury to residents and nurses and other health care 
workers associated with the lifting, transferring, 
repositioning, or movement of a resident. The policy shall 
establish a process that, at a minimum, includes all of the 
following:
        (1) Analysis of the risk of injury to residents and 
    nurses and other health care workers taking into account 
    the resident handling needs of the resident populations 
    served by the facility and the physical environment in 
    which the resident handling and movement occurs.
        (2) Education and training of nurses and other direct

    resident care providers in the identification, assessment, 
    and control of risks of injury to residents and nurses and 
    other health care workers during resident handling and on

    safe lifting policies and techniques and current lifting

    equipment.
        (3) Evaluation of alternative ways to reduce risks 
    associated with resident handling, including evaluation of 
    equipment and the environment.
        (4) Restriction, to the extent feasible with existing 
    equipment and aids, of manual resident handling or movement 
    of all or most of a resident's weight except for emergency, 
    life-threatening, or otherwise exceptional circumstances.
        (5) Procedures for a nurse to refuse to perform or be 
    involved in resident handling or movement that the nurse in 
    good faith believes will expose a resident or nurse or 
    other health care worker to an unacceptable risk of injury.
        (6) Development of strategies to control risk of injury 
    to residents and nurses and other health care workers 
    associated with the lifting, transferring, repositioning, 
    or movement of a resident.
        (7) In developing architectural plans for construction 
    or remodeling of a facility or unit of a facility in which 
    resident handling and movement occurs, consideration of 
    the feasibility of incorporating resident handling 
    equipment or the physical space and construction design 
    needed to incorporate that equipment.

        (8) Fostering and maintaining resident safety, 
    dignity, self-determination, and choice, including the 
    following policies, strategies, and procedures:
            (A) The existence and availability of a trained 
        safe lifting team.
            (B) A policy of advising residents of a range of 
        transfer and lift options, including adjustable 
        diagnostic and treatment equipment, mechanical lifts, 
        and provision of a trained safe lifting team.
            (C) The right of a competent resident, or the 
        guardian of a resident adjudicated incompetent, to 
        choose among the range of transfer and lift options 
        consistent with the procedures set forth under 
        subdivision (b)(5) and the policies set forth under 
        this paragraph (8), subject to the provisions of 
        subparagraph (E) of this paragraph (8).
            (D) Procedures for documenting, upon admission and 
        as status changes, a mobility assessment and plan for 
        lifting, transferring, repositioning, or movement of a 
        resident, including the choice of the resident or the 
        resident's guardian among the range of transfer and 
        lift options.
            (E) Incorporation of such safe lifting procedures, 
        techniques, and equipment as are consistent with 
        applicable federal law. 
    (c) Safe lifting teams must receive specialized, in-depth 
training that includes, but need not be limited to, the 
following:
        (1) Types and operation of equipment.
        (2) Safe manual lifting and moving techniques.
        (3) Ergonomic principles in the assessment of risk both 
    to nurses and other workers and to residents.
        (4) The selection, safe use, location, and condition of 
    appropriate pieces of equipment individualized to each 
    resident's medical and physical conditions and 
    preferences.
        (5) Procedures for advising residents of the full range 
    of transfer and lift options and for documenting 
    individualized lifting plans that include resident choice.
    Specialized, in-depth training may rely on federal 
standards and guidelines such as the United States Department 
of Labor Guidelines for Nursing Homes, supplemented by federal 
requirements for barrier removal, independent access, and 
means of accommodation optimizing independent movement and 
transfer. 
(Source: P.A. 96-389, eff. 1-1-10.)