Public Act 90-0639 of the 90th General Assembly

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Public Act 90-0639

HB2758 Enrolled                               LRB9010079MWpcA

    AN ACT to amend the Illinois Act on the Aging by changing
Section 4.04.

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

    Section  5.   The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by
changing Section 4.04 as follows:

    (20 ILCS 105/4.04) (from Ch. 23, par. 6104.04)
    Sec. 4.04. Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.
    (a) Long Term  Care  Ombudsman  Program.  The  Department
shall  establish  a Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, through
the Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman ("the  Office"),
in  accordance with the provisions of the Older Americans Act
of 1965, as now or hereafter amended.
    (b)  Definitions. As used in  this  Section,  unless  the
context requires otherwise:
    (1)  "Access" has the same meaning as in Section 1-104 of
the  Nursing Home Care Act, as now or hereafter amended; that
is, it means the right to:
    (i)  Enter any long term care facility;
    (ii)  Communicate privately and without restriction  with
any resident who consents to the communication;
    (iii)  Seek  consent to communicate privately and without
restriction with any resident;
    (iv)  Inspect  the  clinical  and  other  records  of   a
resident with the express written consent of the resident;
    (v)  Observe  all  areas  of  the long term care facility
except the living area  of  any  resident  who  protests  the
observation.
    (2)  "Long  Term  Care  Facility"  means  any facility as
defined by Section 1-113 of the Nursing Home Care Act, as now
or hereafter amended.
    (3)  "Ombudsman"  means  any  person  employed   by   the
Department  to fulfill the requirements of the Office, or any
representative  of  a  sub-State  long  term  care  ombudsman
program; provided that the representative, whether he is paid
for or volunteers his ombudsman services, shall be  qualified
and  authorized by the Department to perform the duties of an
ombudsman as specified by the Department in rules.
    (c)  Ombudsman; rules. The Office of State Long Term Care
Ombudsman  shall  be  composed  of  at  least  one  full-time
ombudsman within the Department and shall include a system of
designated sub-State long term care ombudsman programs.  Each
sub-State  program shall be designated by the Department as a
subdivision  of  the  Office  and  any  representative  of  a
sub-State program shall be treated as a representative of the
Office.
    The Department shall promulgate administrative  rules  to
establish  the  responsibilities  of  the  Department and the
Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman. The  administrative
rules  shall  include  the  responsibility  of  the Office to
investigate and resolve complaints made by or  on  behalf  of
residents  of  long term care facilities relating to actions,
inaction,   or   decisions    of    providers,    or    their
representatives,  of  long  term  care  facilities, of public
agencies, or of social services agencies, which may adversely
affect  the  health,  safety,  welfare,  or  rights  of  such
residents. When necessary and appropriate, representatives of
the  Office  shall  refer  complaints  to   the   appropriate
regulatory State agency.
    (d)  Access and visitation rights. (1) In accordance with
subparagraphs  (A) and (E) of paragraph (3) of subsection (c)
of Section 1819 and subparagraphs (A) and  (E)  of  paragraph
(3)  of subsection (c) of Section 1919 of the Social Security
Act, as now or hereafter amended (42 U.S.C. 1395i-3 (c)(3)(A)
and (E) and 42 U.S.C. 1396r-3 (c)(3)(A) and (E)), and Section
307(a)(12) of the Older Americans Act  of  1965,  as  now  or
hereafter amended, a long term care facility must:
    (i)  permit  immediate  access  to  any  resident  by  an
ombudsman; and
    (ii)  permit  representatives  of  the  Office,  with the
permission of the resident's legal  representative  or  legal
guardian, to examine a resident's clinical and other records,
and  if  a  resident is unable to consent to such review, and
has no legal guardian, permit representatives of  the  Office
appropriate   access,   as   defined  by  the  Department  in
administrative rules, to the resident's records.
    (2)  Each long  term  care  facility  shall  display,  in
multiple,  conspicuous  a  public  places  place  within  the
facility  accessible  to both visitors and patients and in an
easily readable format, the address and phone number  of  the
Office, in a manner prescribed by the Office.
    (e)  Immunity.  An  ombudsman or any other representative
of the Office participating in the good faith performance  of
his  or  her  official  duties  shall  have immunity from any
liability (civil, criminal or otherwise) in  any  proceedings
(civil,  criminal  or  otherwise) brought as a consequence of
the performance of his official duties.
    (f)  Business offenses. (1) No person shall:
    (i)  Intentionally prevent, interfere with, or attempt to
impede in any way any representative of  the  Office  in  the
performance  of  his  official  duties under this Act and the
Older Americans Act of 1965; or
    (ii)  Intentionally retaliate, discriminate  against,  or
effect reprisals against any long term care facility resident
or  employee  for  contacting or providing information to any
representative of the Office.
    (2)  A violation of this Section is a  business  offense,
punishable by a fine not to exceed $501.
    (3)  The  Director  of  Aging  shall  notify  the State's
Attorney of the county in which the long term  care  facility
is  located,  or  the  Attorney General, of any violations of
this Section.
    (g)  Confidentiality of records and identities. No  files
or  records  maintained by the Office of State Long Term Care
Ombudsman shall be disclosed unless the  State  Ombudsman  or
the  ombudsman  having  the authority over the disposition of
such  files  authorizes  the  disclosure  in   writing.   The
ombudsman shall not disclose the identity of any complainant,
resident,  witness  or  employee of a long term care provider
involved in a  complaint or report unless such person or such
person's guardian or legal representative consents in writing
to the disclosure, or the disclosure  is  required  by  court
order.
    (h)  Legal  representation.  The  Attorney  General shall
provide legal representation to  any  representative  of  the
Office  against whom suit or other legal action is brought in
connection  with  the  performance  of  the  representative's
official duties, in accordance with "An Act  to  provide  for
representation  and  indemnification  in  certain  civil  law
suits",  approved  December  3,  1977,  as  now  or hereafter
amended.
    (i)  Treatment by prayer and spiritual means. Nothing  in
this  Act  shall  be  construed  to  authorize or require the
medical supervision, regulation or control of  remedial  care
or  treatment  of  any  resident in a long term care facility
operated exclusively by and for members or adherents  of  any
church  or religious denomination the tenets and practices of
which include reliance solely upon  spiritual  means  through
prayer for healing.
(Source: P.A. 86-154.)

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