Rep. John E. Bradley

Filed: 3/17/2005

 

 


 

 


 
09400HB0480ham003 LRB094 06314 LJB 43980 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 480

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 480, AS AMENDED, by
3 replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4 following:
 
5     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Newborn Eye Pathology Act.
 
7     Section 5. Policy. It is the policy of the State of
8 Illinois to make efforts to detect pediatric congenital ocular
9 abnormalities that lead to premature death, blindness, or
10 vision impairment unless treated soon after birth.
 
11     Section 10. Newborn Eye Pathology Advisory Committee.
12     (a) By January 1, 2006, the Department of Public Health
13 shall organize a Newborn Eye Pathology Advisory Committee and
14 appoint members of the Advisory Committee, including, but not
15 limited to, the following:
16         (1) Three ophthalmologists with backgrounds in or
17     knowledge of providing services to infants with
18     retinoblastoma, one from the Chicago metropolitan area,
19     one representing DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will
20     counties, and one from the southern counties of Illinois.
21         (2) A pediatric ophthalmologist who sees general
22     pediatric patients and is a designee of the American
23     Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.

 

 

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1         (3) An academic pediatrician with a background in or
2     knowledge of infant eye pathology.
3         (4) Three parents representing families with child
4     blindness or other ocular abnormalities affecting vision,
5     one from the Chicago metropolitan area, one representing
6     DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, and one
7     from the southern counties of Illinois.
8         (5) A community pediatrician.
9         (6) A nurse with a background in or knowledge of the
10     current Department's program for instillation of eye drops
11     to prevent conjunctivitis.
12         (7) A retinal specialist with research experience in
13     detecting the signs of treatable congenital eye disease.
14     (b) The Advisory Committee members shall serve without
15 compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary travel
16 expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
17     (c) The duties of the Advisory Committee shall be to do all
18 of the following:
19         (1) Develop and conduct training for hospitals
20     implementing newborn eye pathology.
21         (2) Develop a referral system for early intervention
22     services for those infants diagnosed with a congenital
23     abnormality of the eye.
24         (3) Develop educational and informational materials
25     for hospital personnel, health care professionals, and
26     parents on appropriate follow-up procedures for infants
27     diagnosed with a congenital abnormality of the eye.
28         (4) Monitor any reports made available to the State
29     with respect to the eye pathology status of all newborns.
 
30     Section 15. Department of Public Health.
31     (a) All hospitals shall report information on all
32 congenital abnormalities or diseases of the eye detected in
33 newborns prior to discharge from the hospital to the Department

 

 

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1 of Public Health.
2     (b) The Department of Public Health shall maintain a
3 registry of cases of reported congenital abnormalities or
4 diseases of the eye in newborns, including information needed
5 for the purpose of follow-up service. This information shall be
6 treated in the same manner as information under the
7 Communicable Disease Report Act.
8     (c) Any person or hospital making a report in good faith
9 under this Act shall have immunity from any liability, civil or
10 criminal, that may result by reason of making the report. For
11 the purposes of any proceeding, civil or criminal, the good
12 faith of any person required or permitted to report under this
13 Act shall be presumed.
 
14     Section 20. Rules. The Department of Public Health shall
15 adopt rules necessary to implement this Act.
 
16     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
17 2005.".