093_HB3923

 
                                     LRB093 13212 DRJ 18480 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to health facilities.

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

 4        Section  5.  The  Nursing  Home  Care  Act  is amended by
 5    changing Section 3-212 as follows:

 6        (210 ILCS 45/3-212) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4153-212)
 7        Sec. 3-212. Inspection.
 8        (a)  The  Department,  whenever  it  deems  necessary  in
 9    accordance with subsection (b),  shall  inspect,  survey  and
10    evaluate   every   facility   to  determine  compliance  with
11    applicable  licensure   requirements   and   standards.    An
12    inspection  should  occur  within  120  days prior to license
13    renewal.  The Department may periodically  visit  a  facility
14    for  the  purpose of consultation.  An inspection, survey, or
15    evaluation, other than an inspection  of  financial  records,
16    shall  be  conducted without prior notice to the facility.  A
17    visit for the sole purpose of consultation may be  announced.
18    The  Department shall provide training to surveyors about the
19    appropriate assessment, care planning, and  care  of  persons
20    with  mental  illness  (other  than  Alzheimer's  disease  or
21    related  disorders)  to  enable  its  surveyors  to determine
22    whether a  facility  is  complying  with  State  and  federal
23    requirements about the assessment, care planning, and care of
24    those persons.
25        (a-1)  An employee of a State or unit of local government
26    agency  charged  with  inspecting,  surveying, and evaluating
27    facilities who directly or indirectly gives prior  notice  of
28    an   inspection,   survey,   or  evaluation,  other  than  an
29    inspection of financial records,  to  a  facility  or  to  an
30    employee of a facility is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
31        An  inspector  or  an  employee  of  the  Department  who
 
                            -2-      LRB093 13212 DRJ 18480 b
 1    intentionally  prenotifies  a facility, orally or in writing,
 2    of a pending complaint investigation or inspection  shall  be
 3    guilty  of  a  Class  A misdemeanor. Superiors of persons who
 4    have prenotified a facility shall  be  subject  to  the  same
 5    penalties,    if    they    have    knowingly   allowed   the
 6    prenotification.  A person found  guilty  of  prenotifying  a
 7    facility  shall  be  subject to disciplinary action by his or
 8    her employer.
 9        If the Department has a good  faith  belief,  based  upon
10    information  that comes to its attention, that a violation of
11    this subsection has occurred, it must file a  complaint  with
12    the  Attorney  General  or the State's Attorney in the county
13    where the violation took place within 30 days after discovery
14    of the information.
15        (a-2)  An employee of a State or unit of local government
16    agency charged  with  inspecting,  surveying,  or  evaluating
17    facilities   who   willfully   profits   from  violating  the
18    confidentiality of  the  inspection,  survey,  or  evaluation
19    process  shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony and that conduct
20    shall be deemed unprofessional conduct  that  may  subject  a
21    person  to loss of his or her professional license. An action
22    to prosecute a person for violating this subsection (a-2) may
23    be brought by either the  Attorney  General  or  the  State's
24    Attorney in the county where the violation took place.
25        (b)  In   determining  whether  to  make  more  than  the
26    required  number  of  unannounced  inspections,  surveys  and
27    evaluations of a facility the Department shall  consider  one
28    or  more  of  the following: previous inspection reports; the
29    facility's history of compliance with  standards,  rules  and
30    regulations  promulgated  under  this  Act  and correction of
31    violations,  penalties  or  other  enforcement  actions;  the
32    number  and  severity  of  complaints  received   about   the
33    facility;  any  allegations  of  resident  abuse  or neglect;
34    weather  conditions;  health  emergencies;  other  reasonable
 
                            -3-      LRB093 13212 DRJ 18480 b
 1    belief that deficiencies exist.
 2        (b-1)  The Department shall not be required to  determine
 3    whether  a  facility certified to participate in the Medicare
 4    program under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, or  the
 5    Medicaid  program under Title XIX of the Social Security Act,
 6    and which the Department determines by inspection under  this
 7    Section  or  under  Section  3-702  of  this  Act  to  be  in
 8    compliance with the certification requirements of Title XVIII
 9    or  XIX,  is  in  compliance with any requirement of this Act
10    that  is  less  stringent  than  or  duplicates   a   federal
11    certification requirement.  In accordance with subsection (a)
12    of  this  Section  or  subsection  (d)  of Section 3-702, the
13    Department shall determine whether a certified facility is in
14    compliance with requirements of this Act that exceed  federal
15    certification requirements.  If a certified facility is found
16    to   be   out   of   compliance  with  federal  certification
17    requirements, the results of an inspection conducted pursuant
18    to Title XVIII or XIX of the Social Security Act may be  used
19    as   the   basis  for  enforcement  remedies  authorized  and
20    commenced under this Act. Enforcement of this Act  against  a
21    certified   facility  shall  be  commenced  pursuant  to  the
22    requirements of this Act, unless enforcement remedies  sought
23    pursuant  to  Title  XVIII  or XIX of the Social Security Act
24    exceed those  authorized  by  this  Act.   As  used  in  this
25    subsection,   "enforcement   remedy"  means  a  sanction  for
26    violating a federal certification requirement or this Act.
27        (c)  Upon  completion  of  each  inspection,  survey  and
28    evaluation,  the   appropriate   Department   personnel   who
29    conducted the inspection, survey or evaluation shall submit a
30    copy  of  their  report  to  the  licensee  upon  exiting the
31    facility,  and  shall  submit  the  actual  report   to   the
32    appropriate  regional  office of the Department.  Such report
33    and any recommendations for action by  the  Department  under
34    this  Act  shall be transmitted to the appropriate offices of
 
                            -4-      LRB093 13212 DRJ 18480 b
 1    the associate  director  of  the  Department,  together  with
 2    related  comments  or  documentation provided by the licensee
 3    which may  refute  findings  in  the  report,  which  explain
 4    extenuating   circumstances   that  the  facility  could  not
 5    reasonably have prevented,  or  which  indicate  methods  and
 6    timetables  for  correction  of deficiencies described in the
 7    report. Without affecting the application of  subsection  (a)
 8    of  Section  3-303,  any  documentation  or  comments  of the
 9    licensee shall be provided within 10 working  days  after  of
10    receipt  of  the  copy  of  the  report.   Such  report shall
11    recommend to the Director appropriate action under  this  Act
12    with  respect  to  findings against a facility.  The Director
13    shall then determine whether the report's findings constitute
14    a violation or violations of which the facility must be given
15    notice.  Such determination shall be based upon the  severity
16    of  the  finding,  the  danger  posed  to resident health and
17    safety,  the  comments  and  documentation  provided  by  the
18    facility, the diligence and efforts to correct  deficiencies,
19    correction  of  the  reported deficiencies, the frequency and
20    duration of similar findings  in  previous  reports  and  the
21    facility's  general  inspection history.  Violations shall be
22    determined under this subsection no later than 60 days  after
23    completion of each inspection, survey and evaluation.
24        (d)  The Department shall maintain all inspection, survey
25    and  evaluation  reports  for  at  least  5 years in a manner
26    accessible to and understandable by the public.
27    (Source: P.A. 91-799, eff. 6-13-00; 92-209, eff. 1-1-02.)

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