HB0480ham004 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Harry Osterman

Filed: 4/6/2005

09400HB0480ham004 LRB094 06314 LJB 44524 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 480

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 480, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Newborn Eye Pathology Act.

Section 5. Policy. It is the policy of the State of Illinois to make efforts to detect pediatric congenital ocular abnormalities that lead to premature death, blindness, or vision impairment unless treated soon after birth.

Section 10. Newborn Eye Pathology Advisory Committee.

(a) By January 1, 2006, the Department of Public Health shall organize a Newborn Eye Pathology Advisory Committee and appoint members of the Advisory Committee, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Three ophthalmologists with backgrounds in or knowledge of providing services to infants with retinoblastoma, one from the Chicago metropolitan area, one representing DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, and one from the southern counties of Illinois.

(2) A pediatric ophthalmologist who sees general pediatric patients and is a designee of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.

(3) An academic pediatrician with a background in or knowledge of infant eye pathology.

(4) Three parents representing families with child blindness or other ocular abnormalities affecting vision, one from the Chicago metropolitan area, one representing DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, and one from the southern counties of Illinois.

(5) A community pediatrician.

(6) A nurse with a background in or knowledge of the current Department's program for instillation of eye drops to prevent conjunctivitis.

(7) A retinal specialist with research experience in detecting the signs of treatable congenital eye disease.

(b) The Advisory Committee members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(c) The duties of the Advisory Committee shall be to do all of the following:

(1) Develop and conduct training for hospitals implementing newborn eye pathology.

(2) Develop a referral system for early intervention services for those infants diagnosed with a congenital abnormality of the eye.

(3) Develop educational and informational materials for hospital personnel, health care professionals, and parents on appropriate follow-up procedures for infants diagnosed with a congenital abnormality of the eye.

(4) Monitor any reports made available to the State with respect to the eye pathology status of all newborns.

Section 15. Department of Public Health.

(a) All hospitals shall report information on all congenital abnormalities or diseases of the eye detected in newborns prior to discharge from the hospital to the Department of Public Health.

(b) The Department of Public Health shall maintain a registry of cases of reported congenital abnormalities or diseases of the eye in newborns, including information needed for the purpose of follow-up service. This information shall be treated in the same manner as information under the Communicable Disease Report Act.

(c) Any person or hospital making a report under this Act shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal, that may result by reason of making the report, except for willful or wanton misconduct.

Section 20. Rules. The Department of Public Health shall adopt rules necessary to implement this Act.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2005.".