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Public Act 103-0803 |
HB3521 Enrolled | LRB103 29647 BMS 56046 b |
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AN ACT concerning regulation. |
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly: |
Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by |
changing Section 9.6 as follows: |
(210 ILCS 85/9.6) |
Sec. 9.6. Patient protection from abuse. |
(a) No administrator, agent, or employee of a hospital or |
a hospital affiliate, or a member of a hospital's its medical |
staff , may abuse a patient in the hospital or in a facility |
operated by a hospital affiliate . |
(b) Any hospital administrator, agent, employee, or |
medical staff member , or an administrator, employee, or |
physician employed by a hospital affiliate, who has reasonable |
cause to believe that any patient with whom he or she has |
direct contact has been subjected to abuse in the hospital or |
hospital affiliate shall promptly report or cause a report to |
be made to a designated hospital administrator responsible for |
providing such reports to the Department as required by this |
Section. |
(c) Retaliation against a person who lawfully and in good |
faith makes a report under this Section is prohibited. |
(d) Upon receiving a report under subsection (b) of this |
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Section, the hospital or hospital affiliate shall submit the |
report to the Department within 24 hours of obtaining such |
report. In the event that the hospital receives multiple |
reports involving a single alleged instance of abuse, the |
hospital shall submit one report to the Department. |
(e) Upon receiving a report under this Section, the |
hospital or hospital affiliate shall promptly conduct an |
internal review to ensure the alleged victim's safety. |
Measures to protect the alleged victim shall be taken as |
deemed necessary by the hospital's administrator and may |
include, but are not limited to, removing suspected violators |
from further patient contact during the hospital's or hospital |
affiliate's internal review. If the alleged victim lacks |
decision-making capacity under the Health Care Surrogate Act |
and no health care surrogate is available, the hospital or |
hospital affiliate may contact the Illinois Guardianship and |
Advocacy Commission to determine the need for a temporary |
guardian of that person. |
(f) All internal hospital and hospital affiliate reviews |
shall be conducted by a designated hospital employee or agent |
who is qualified to detect abuse and is not involved in the |
alleged victim's treatment. All internal review findings must |
be documented and filed according to hospital or hospital |
affiliate procedures and shall be made available to the |
Department upon request. |
(g) Any other person may make a report of patient abuse to |
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the Department if that person has reasonable cause to believe |
that a patient has been abused in the hospital or hospital |
affiliate . |
(h) The report required under this Section shall include: |
the name of the patient; the name and address of the hospital |
or hospital affiliate treating the patient; the age of the |
patient; the nature of the patient's condition, including any |
evidence of previous injuries or disabilities; and any other |
information that the reporter believes might be helpful in |
establishing the cause of the reported abuse and the identity |
of the person believed to have caused the abuse. |
(i) Except for willful or wanton misconduct, any |
individual, person, institution, or agency participating in |
good faith in the making of a report under this Section, or in |
the investigation of such a report or in making a disclosure of |
information concerning reports of abuse under this Section, |
shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil, |
professional, or criminal, that otherwise might result by |
reason of such actions. For the purpose of any proceedings, |
whether civil, professional, or criminal, the good faith of |
any persons required to report cases of suspected abuse under |
this Section or who disclose information concerning reports of |
abuse in compliance with this Section, shall be presumed. |
(j) No administrator, agent, or employee of a hospital or |
hospital affiliate shall adopt or employ practices or |
procedures designed to discourage good faith reporting of |
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patient abuse under this Section. |
(k) Every hospital and hospital affiliate shall ensure |
that all new and existing employees are trained in the |
detection and reporting of abuse of patients and retrained at |
least every 2 years thereafter. |
(l) The Department shall investigate each report of |
patient abuse made under this Section according to the |
procedures of the Department, except that a report of abuse |
which indicates that a patient's life or safety is in imminent |
danger shall be investigated within 24 hours of such report. |
Under no circumstances may a hospital's or hospital |
affiliate's internal review of an allegation of abuse replace |
an investigation of the allegation by the Department. |
(m) The Department shall keep a continuing record of all |
reports made pursuant to this Section, including indications |
of the final determination of any investigation and the final |
disposition of all reports. The Department shall inform the |
investigated hospital or hospital affiliate and any other |
person making a report under subsection (g) of its final |
determination or disposition in writing. |
(n) The Department shall not disclose to the public any |
information regarding any reports and investigations under |
this Section unless and until the report of abuse is |
substantiated following a full and proper investigation. |
(o) All patient identifiable information in any report or |
investigation under this Section shall be confidential and |
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shall not be disclosed except as authorized by this Act or |
other applicable law. |
(p) Nothing in this Section relieves a hospital or |
hospital affiliate administrator, employee, agent, or medical |
staff member from contacting appropriate law enforcement |
authorities as required by law. |
(q) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean |
that a patient is a victim of abuse because of health care |
services provided or not provided by health care |
professionals. |
(r) Nothing in this Section shall require a hospital or |
hospital affiliate , including its employees, agents, and |
medical staff members, to provide any services to a patient in |
contravention of his or her stated or implied objection |
thereto upon grounds that such services conflict with his or |
her religious beliefs or practices, nor shall such a patient |
be considered abused under this Section for the exercise of |
such beliefs or practices. |
(s) The Department's implementation of this Section is |
subject to appropriations to the Department for that purpose. |
(t) As used in this Section, the following terms have the |
following meanings: |
"Abuse" means any physical or mental injury or sexual |
abuse intentionally inflicted by a hospital or hospital |
affiliate employee, agent, or medical staff member on a |
patient of the hospital or hospital affiliate and does not |
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include any hospital or hospital affiliate , medical, health |
care, or other personal care services done in good faith in the |
interest of the patient according to established medical and |
clinical standards of care. |
"Hospital affiliate" has the meaning given to that term in |
Section 10.8. |
"Mental injury" means intentionally caused emotional |
distress in a patient from words or gestures that would be |
considered by a reasonable person to be humiliating, |
harassing, or threatening and which causes observable and |
substantial impairment. |
"Sexual abuse" means any intentional act of sexual contact |
or sexual penetration of a patient in the hospital. |
"Substantiated", with respect to a report of abuse, means |
that a preponderance of the evidence indicates that abuse |
occurred. |
(Source: P.A. 96-692, eff. 1-1-10.) |