Public Act 102-0640
 
SB2137 EnrolledLRB102 16414 CPF 21804 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Findings.
    (1) The General Assembly finds that contact with family,
friends, and clergy is an integral part of the quality of life
for nursing home residents. Social isolation has long been a
trigger for declining mental and physical health. While the
digital revolution creates a new approach for community
connectedness, the State of Illinois stands firmly in
agreement with the body of research that shows in-person
interactions is the preferable and more impactful avenue for
family, friends, and clergy to connect with and support
nursing home residents and supports virtual visitation
programs as a supplement to in-person interactions.
Furthermore, the State of Illinois looks to government payor
sources and integrated entities of the health care system,
including Medicaid managed care organizations, as key
stakeholders in providing the adequate resources for residents
to digitally connect with loved ones near and far.
    (2) The General Assembly further finds that use of
electronic devices to make and maintain contact with nursing
home residents is a new approach and as such must be approached
with care to ensure the protection of nursing home residents
from those who would seek to harm or defraud them using this
new technology.
 
    Section 5. The Nursing Home Care Act is amended by adding
Section 3-102.3 as follows:
 
    (210 ILCS 45/3-102.3 new)
    Sec. 3-102.3. Religious and recreational activities;
social isolation.
    (a) In this Section:
    "Assistive and supportive technology and devices" means
computers, video conferencing equipment, distance based
communication technology, or other technological equipment,
accessories, or electronic licenses as may be necessary to
ensure that residents are able to engage in face-to-face,
verbal-based, or auditory-based contact, communication,
religious activity, or recreational activity with other
facility residents and with family members, friends, loved
ones, caregivers, and other external support systems, through
electronic means, in accordance with the provisions of
paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c).
    "Religious and recreational activities" includes any
religious, social, or recreational activity that is consistent
with a resident's preferences and choosing, regardless of
whether the activity is coordinated, offered, provided, or
sponsored by facility staff or by an outside activities
provider.
    "Resident's representative" has the same meaning as
provided in Section 1-123.
    "Social isolation" means a state of isolation wherein a
resident of a long-term care facility is unable to engage in
social interactions and religious and recreational activities
with other facility residents or with family members, friends,
loved ones, caregivers and external support systems.
    "Virtual visitation" means the use of face-to-face,
verbal-based, or auditory-based contact through electronic
means.
    (b) The Department shall:
        (1) require each long-term care facility in the State
    to adopt and implement written policies, provide for the
    availability of assistive and supportive technology and
    devices to facility residents, and ensure that appropriate
    staff are in place to help prevent the social isolation of
    facility residents; and
        (2) communicate regularly with the Department of
    Healthcare and Family Services and the Department on Aging
    regarding intergovernmental cooperation concerning best
    practices for potential funding for facilities to mitigate
    the potential for racial disparities as an unintended
    consequence of this Act.
    The virtual visitation policies shall not be interpreted
as a substitute for in-person visitation, but shall be wholly
in addition to existing in-person visitation policies.
    (c) The social isolation prevention policies adopted by
each long-term care facility pursuant to subsection (b) shall
be consistent with rights and privileges guaranteed to
residents and constraints provided under Sections 2-108,
2-109, and 2-110 and shall include the following:
        (1) authorization and inclusion of specific protocols
    and procedures to encourage and enable residents of the
    facility to engage in in-person contact, communication,
    religious activity, and recreational activity with other
    facility residents and with family members, friends, loved
    ones, caregivers, and other external support systems,
    except when prohibited, restricted, or limited by federal
    or State statute, rule, regulation, executive order, or
    guidance;
        (2) authorization and inclusion of specific protocols
    and procedures to encourage and enable residents to engage
    in face-to-face, verbal-based, or auditory-based contact,
    communication, religious activity, and recreational
    activity with other facility residents and with family
    members, friends, loved ones, caregivers, and other
    external support systems through the use of electronic or
    virtual means and methods, including, but not limited to,
    computer technology, the Internet, social media,
    videoconferencing, videophone, and other innovative
    technological means or methods, whenever the resident is
    subject to restrictions that limit his or her ability to
    engage in in-person contact, communication, religious
    activity, or recreational activity as authorized by
    paragraph (1) and when the technology requested is not
    being used by other residents in the event of a limited
    number of items of technology in a facility;
        (3) a mechanism for residents of the facility or the
    residents' representatives to request access to assistive
    and supportive technology and devices as may be necessary
    to facilitate the residents' engagement in face-to-face,
    verbal-based, or auditory-based contact, communication,
    religious activity, and recreational activity with other
    residents, family members, friends, and other external
    support systems, through electronic means, as provided by
    paragraph (2);
        (4) specific administrative policies, procedures, and
    protocols governing:
            (A) the acquisition, maintenance, and replacement
        of assistive and supportive technology and devices;
            (B) the use of environmental barriers and other
        controls when the assistive and supportive technology
        and devices acquired pursuant to subparagraph (A) are
        in use, especially in cases where the assistive and
        supportive technology and devices are likely to become
        contaminated with bodily substances, are touched
        frequently, or are difficult to clean; and
            (C) the regular cleaning of the assistive and
        supportive technology and devices acquired pursuant to
        subparagraph (A) and any environmental barriers or
        other physical controls used in association therewith;
        (5) a requirement that (i) upon admission and (ii) at
    the request of a resident or the resident's
    representative, appropriate staff shall develop and update
    an individualized virtual visitation schedule while taking
    into account the individual's requests and preferences
    with respect to the residents' participation in social
    interactions and religious and recreational activities;
        (6) a requirement that appropriate staff, upon the
    request of a resident or the resident's family members,
    guardian, or representative, shall develop an
    individualized virtual visitation schedule for the
    resident, which shall:
            (A) address the need for a virtual visitation
        schedule and establish a virtual visitation schedule
        if deemed to be appropriate;
            (B) identify the assessed needs and preferences of
        the resident and any preferences specified by the
        resident's representative, unless a preference
        specified by the resident conflicts with a preference
        specified by the resident's representative, in which
        case the resident's preference shall take priority;
            (C) document the long-term care facility's defined
        virtual hours of visitation and inform the resident
        and the resident's representative that virtual
        visitation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (c)
        will adhere to the defined visitation hours;
            (D) describe the location within the facility and
        assistive and supportive technology and devices to be
        used in virtual visitation; and
            (E) describe the respective responsibilities of
        staff, visitors, and the resident when engaging in
        virtual visitation pursuant to the individualized
        visitation plan;
        (7) a requirement (i) upon admission and (ii) at the
    request of the resident or the resident's representative,
    to provide notification to the resident and the resident's
    representative that they have the right to request of
    facility staff the creation and review of a resident's
    individualized virtual visitation schedule;
        (8) a requirement (i) upon admission and (ii) at the
    request of the resident or resident's representative, to
    provide, in writing to the resident or resident's
    representative, virtual visitation hours, how to schedule
    a virtual visitation, and how to request assistive and
    supportive technology and devices;
        (9) specific policies, protocols, and procedures
    governing a resident's requisition, use, and return of
    assistive and supportive technology and devices maintained
    pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4), and require
    appropriate staff to communicate those policies,
    protocols, and procedures to residents; and
        (10) the designation of at least one member of the
    therapeutic recreation or activities department, or, if
    the facility does not have such a department, the
    designation of at least one senior staff member, as
    determined by facility management, to train other
    appropriate facility employees, including, but not limited
    to, activities professionals and volunteers, social
    workers, occupational therapists, and therapy assistants,
    to provide direct assistance to residents upon request and
    on an as-needed basis, as necessary to ensure that each
    resident is able to successfully access and use, for the
    purposes specified in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this
    subsection, the assistive and supportive technology and
    devices acquired pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph
    (4).
    (d) A long-term care facility may apply to the Department
for civil monetary penalty fund grants for assistive and
supportive technology and devices and may request other
available federal and State funds.
    (e) The Department shall determine whether a long-term
care facility is in compliance with the provisions of this
Section and the policies, protocols, and procedures adopted
pursuant to this Section in accordance with the Nursing Home
Care Act for surveys and inspections.
    In addition to any other applicable penalties provided by
law, a long-term care facility that fails to comply with the
provisions of this Section or properly implement the policies,
protocols, and procedures adopted pursuant to subsection (b)
shall be liable to pay an administrative penalty as a Type "C"
violation, the amount of which shall be determined in
accordance with a schedule established by the Department by
rule. The schedule shall provide for an enhanced
administrative penalty in the case of a repeat or ongoing
violation. Implementation of an administrative penalty as a
Type "C" violation under this subsection shall not be imposed
prior to January 1, 2023.
    (f) Whenever a complaint received by the Office of State
Long Term Care Ombudsman discloses evidence that a long-term
care facility has failed to comply with the provisions of this
Section or to properly implement the policies, protocols, and
procedures adopted pursuant to subsection (b), the Office of
State Long Term Care Ombudsman shall refer the matter to the
Department.
    (g) This Section does not impact, limit, or constrict a
resident's right to or usage of his or her personal property or
electronic monitoring under Section 2-115.
    (h) Specific protocols and procedures shall be developed
to ensure that the quantity of assistive and supportive
technology and devices maintained on-site at the facility
remains sufficient, at all times, to meet the assessed social
and activity needs and preferences of each facility resident.
Residents' family members or caregivers should be considered,
as appropriate, in the assessment and reassessment.
    (i) Within 60 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Department
shall file rules necessary to implement the provisions of this
Section. The rules shall include, but need not be limited to,
minimum standards for the social isolation prevention policies
to be adopted pursuant to subsection (b), a penalty schedule
to be used pursuant to subsection (e), and policies regarding
a long-term care facility's Internet access and subsequent
Internet barriers in relation to a resident's virtual
visitation plan pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (c).
    (j) The Department's rules under subsection (i) shall take
into account Internet bandwidth limitations outside of the
control of a long-term care facility.
    (k) Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to mean
that addressing the issues of social isolation shall take
precedence over providing for the health and safety of the
residents.
 
    Section 10. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is
amended by adding Section 5-45.8 as follows:
 
    (5 ILCS 100/5-45.8 new)
    Sec. 5-45.8. Emergency rulemaking; Nursing Home Care Act.
To provide for the expeditious and timely implementation of
this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, emergency
rules implementing Section 3-102.3 of the Nursing Home Care
Act may be adopted in accordance with Section 5-45 by the
Department of Public Health. The adoption of emergency rules
authorized by Section 5-45 and this Section is deemed to be
necessary for the public interest, safety, and welfare.
    This Section is repealed on January 1, 2027.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/27/2021