HB3521 Enrolled LRB103 29647 BMS 56046 b
1		AN ACT concerning regulation.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by
5		changing Section 9.6 as follows:
6		(210 ILCS 85/9.6)
7		Sec. 9.6. Patient protection from abuse.
8		(a) No administrator, agent, or employee of a hospital or
9		a hospital affiliate, or a member of a hospital's its medical
10		staff, may abuse a patient in the hospital or in a facility
11		operated by a hospital affiliate.
12		(b) Any hospital administrator, agent, employee, or
13		medical staff member, or an administrator, employee, or
14		physician employed by a hospital affiliate, who has reasonable
15		cause to believe that any patient with whom he or she has
16		direct contact has been subjected to abuse in the hospital or
17		hospital affiliate shall promptly report or cause a report to
18		be made to a designated hospital administrator responsible for
19		providing such reports to the Department as required by this
20		Section.
21		(c) Retaliation against a person who lawfully and in good
22		faith makes a report under this Section is prohibited.
23		(d) Upon receiving a report under subsection (b) of this

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1		Section, the hospital or hospital affiliate shall submit the
2		report to the Department within 24 hours of obtaining such
3		report. In the event that the hospital receives multiple
4		reports involving a single alleged instance of abuse, the
5		hospital shall submit one report to the Department.
6		(e) Upon receiving a report under this Section, the
7		hospital or hospital affiliate shall promptly conduct an
8		internal review to ensure the alleged victim's safety.
9		Measures to protect the alleged victim shall be taken as
10		deemed necessary by the hospital's administrator and may
11		include, but are not limited to, removing suspected violators
12		from further patient contact during the hospital's or hospital
13		affiliate's internal review. If the alleged victim lacks
14		decision-making capacity under the Health Care Surrogate Act
15		and no health care surrogate is available, the hospital or
16		hospital affiliate may contact the Illinois Guardianship and
17		Advocacy Commission to determine the need for a temporary
18		guardian of that person.
19		(f) All internal hospital and hospital affiliate reviews
20		shall be conducted by a designated hospital employee or agent
21		who is qualified to detect abuse and is not involved in the
22		alleged victim's treatment. All internal review findings must
23		be documented and filed according to hospital or hospital
24		affiliate procedures and shall be made available to the
25		Department upon request.
26		(g) Any other person may make a report of patient abuse to

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1		the Department if that person has reasonable cause to believe
2		that a patient has been abused in the hospital or hospital
3		affiliate.
4		(h) The report required under this Section shall include:
5		the name of the patient; the name and address of the hospital
6		or hospital affiliate treating the patient; the age of the
7		patient; the nature of the patient's condition, including any
8		evidence of previous injuries or disabilities; and any other
9		information that the reporter believes might be helpful in
10		establishing the cause of the reported abuse and the identity
11		of the person believed to have caused the abuse.
12		(i) Except for willful or wanton misconduct, any
13		individual, person, institution, or agency participating in
14		good faith in the making of a report under this Section, or in
15		the investigation of such a report or in making a disclosure of
16		information concerning reports of abuse under this Section,
17		shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil,
18		professional, or criminal, that otherwise might result by
19		reason of such actions. For the purpose of any proceedings,
20		whether civil, professional, or criminal, the good faith of
21		any persons required to report cases of suspected abuse under
22		this Section or who disclose information concerning reports of
23		abuse in compliance with this Section, shall be presumed.
24		(j) No administrator, agent, or employee of a hospital or
25		hospital affiliate shall adopt or employ practices or
26		procedures designed to discourage good faith reporting of

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1		patient abuse under this Section.
2		(k) Every hospital and hospital affiliate shall ensure
3		that all new and existing employees are trained in the
4		detection and reporting of abuse of patients and retrained at
5		least every 2 years thereafter.
6		(l) The Department shall investigate each report of
7		patient abuse made under this Section according to the
8		procedures of the Department, except that a report of abuse
9		which indicates that a patient's life or safety is in imminent
10		danger shall be investigated within 24 hours of such report.
11		Under no circumstances may a hospital's or hospital
12		affiliate's internal review of an allegation of abuse replace
13		an investigation of the allegation by the Department.
14		(m) The Department shall keep a continuing record of all
15		reports made pursuant to this Section, including indications
16		of the final determination of any investigation and the final
17		disposition of all reports. The Department shall inform the
18		investigated hospital or hospital affiliate and any other
19		person making a report under subsection (g) of its final
20		determination or disposition in writing.
21		(n) The Department shall not disclose to the public any
22		information regarding any reports and investigations under
23		this Section unless and until the report of abuse is
24		substantiated following a full and proper investigation.
25		(o) All patient identifiable information in any report or
26		investigation under this Section shall be confidential and

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1		shall not be disclosed except as authorized by this Act or
2		other applicable law.
3		(p) Nothing in this Section relieves a hospital or
4		hospital affiliate administrator, employee, agent, or medical
5		staff member from contacting appropriate law enforcement
6		authorities as required by law.
7		(q) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean
8		that a patient is a victim of abuse because of health care
9		services provided or not provided by health care
10		professionals.
11		(r) Nothing in this Section shall require a hospital or
12		hospital affiliate, including its employees, agents, and
13		medical staff members, to provide any services to a patient in
14		contravention of his or her stated or implied objection
15		thereto upon grounds that such services conflict with his or
16		her religious beliefs or practices, nor shall such a patient
17		be considered abused under this Section for the exercise of
18		such beliefs or practices.
19		(s) The Department's implementation of this Section is
20		subject to appropriations to the Department for that purpose.
21		(t) As used in this Section, the following terms have the
22		following meanings:
23		"Abuse" means any physical or mental injury or sexual
24		abuse intentionally inflicted by a hospital or hospital
25		affiliate employee, agent, or medical staff member on a
26		patient of the hospital or hospital affiliate and does not

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