Public Act 0631 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0480 Enrolled LRB094 06314 LJB 36389 b

Public Act 094-0631

AN ACT concerning public health, which may be referred to as Adamin and Ryan's Law.

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

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) Two community pediatricians.

(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.

(8) An optometrist with a background in or experience with pupil dilation in infants and red reflex screening for intraocular pathology.

(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 to the Department of Public Health. Reports shall be made to the Department's Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Reporting System.

(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.

Effective Date: 8/19/2005