Public Act 90-0639 of the 90th General Assembly
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.)