Bill Text: IL SB2541 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Creates the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act. Provides for the registration of volunteer health practitioners with a registration system for the provision of health or veterinary services in the State for a host entity or disaster relief organization while an emergency declaration is in effect. Sets forth a provision concerning the uniformity of application and construction of the Act. Provides for the creation of the registration system. Provides that the Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall be the administrating authority of the Uniform Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-07-02 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 96-0983 [SB2541 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-SB2541-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning professional regulation.
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
Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act.
Section 2. Definitions. In this Act:
(1) "Disaster relief organization" means an entity that
provides emergency or disaster relief services that include
health or veterinary services provided by volunteer health
practitioners and that:
(A) is designated or recognized as a provider of those
services pursuant to a disaster response and recovery plan
adopted by an agency of the federal government or the
Illinois Emergency Management Agency; or
(B) regularly plans and conducts its activities in
coordination with an agency of the federal government or
the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
(2) "Emergency" means an event or condition that is a
disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency Act.
(3) "Emergency declaration" means a declaration of
emergency issued by a person authorized to do so under the laws
of this State or a disaster proclamation issued by the Governor

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pursuant to Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management
Agency Act.
(4) (Reserved).
(5) "Entity" means a person other than an individual.
(6) "Health facility" means an entity licensed under the
laws of this or another state to provide health or veterinary
services.
(7) "Health practitioner" means an individual licensed
under the laws of this or another state to provide health or
veterinary services.
(8) "Health services" means the provision of treatment,
care, advice or guidance, or other services, or supplies,
related to the health or death of individuals or human
populations, to the extent necessary to respond to an
emergency, including:
(A) the following, concerning the physical or mental
condition or functional status of an individual or
affecting the structure or function of the body:
(i) preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic,
rehabilitative, maintenance, or palliative care; and
(ii) counseling, assessment, procedures, or other
services;
(B) sale or dispensing of a drug, a device, equipment,
or another item to an individual in accordance with a
prescription; and
(C) funeral, cremation, cemetery, or other mortuary

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services.
(9) "Host entity" means an entity operating in this State
which uses volunteer health practitioners to respond to an
emergency, including a healthcare facility, system, clinic or
other fixed or mobile location where health care services are
provided. A disaster relief organization may also be a host
entity under this subsection to the extent that it operates a
healthcare facility, system, clinic, or other fixed or mobile
location in providing emergency or disaster relief services.
(10) "License" means authorization by a state to engage in
health or veterinary services that are unlawful without the
authorization.
(11) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business
trust, trust, partnership, limited liability company,
association, joint venture, public corporation, government or
governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any
other legal or commercial entity.
(12) "Scope of practice" means the extent of the
authorization to provide health or veterinary services granted
to a health practitioner by a license issued to the
practitioner in the state in which the principal part of the
practitioner's services are rendered, including any conditions
imposed by the licensing authority.
(13) "State" means a state of the United States, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the

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jurisdiction of the United States.
(14) "Veterinary services" means the provision of
treatment, care, advice or guidance, or other services, or
supplies, related to the health or death of an animal or to
animal populations, to the extent necessary to respond to an
emergency declaration, including:
(A) diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of an animal
disease, injury, or other physical or mental condition by
the prescription, administration, or dispensing of
vaccine, medicine, surgery, or therapy;
(B) use of a procedure for reproductive management; and
(C) monitoring and treatment of animal populations for
diseases that have spread or demonstrate the potential to
spread to humans.
(15) "Volunteer health practitioner" means a health
practitioner who provides health or veterinary services,
whether or not the practitioner receives compensation for those
services. The term does not include a practitioner who receives
compensation pursuant to an employment or independent
contractor relationship existing at the time of the emergency
with a host entity or disaster relief organization which
requires the practitioner to provide health or veterinary
services in this State, unless the practitioner is not a
resident of this State and is employed by or an independent
contractor of a host entity or disaster relief organization
providing services in this State while an emergency declaration

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is in effect.
Section 3. Applicability to volunteer health
practitioners. This Act applies to volunteer health
practitioners registered with a registration system that
complies with Section 5 and who provide health or veterinary
services in this State for a host entity or disaster relief
organization while an emergency declaration is in effect.
Section 4. Regulation of services during emergency.
(a) While a disaster proclamation under the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency Act is in effect, the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency may limit, restrict, or otherwise
regulate:
(1) the duration of practice by volunteer health
practitioners;
(2) the geographical areas in which volunteer health
practitioners may practice;
(3) the types of volunteer health practitioners who may
practice; and
(4) any other matters necessary to coordinate
effectively the provision of health or veterinary services
during the emergency.
(b) An order issued pursuant to subsection (a) may take
effect immediately, without prior notice or comment, and is not
a rule within the meaning of the Illinois Administrative

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Procedure Act.
(c) A host entity or disaster relief organization that uses
volunteer health practitioners to provide health or veterinary
services in this State shall:
(1) consult and coordinate its activities with the
Illinois Emergency Management Agency to the extent
practicable to provide for the efficient and effective use
of volunteer health practitioners; and
(2) comply with any laws relating to the management of
emergency health or veterinary services.
Section 5. Volunteer Health Practitioner Registration
Systems.
(a) To qualify as a volunteer health practitioner
registration system, a system must:
(1) accept applications for the registration of
volunteer health practitioners before or during an
emergency;
(2) include information about the licensure and good
standing of health practitioners which is accessible by
authorized persons;
(3) be capable of confirming the accuracy of
information concerning whether a health practitioner is
licensed and in good standing before health services or
veterinary services are provided under this Act; and
(4) meet one of the following conditions:

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(A) be an emergency system for advance
registration of volunteer health-care practitioners
established by a state and funded through the
Department of Health and Human Services under Section
319I of the Public Health Services Act, 42 U.S.C.
Section 247d-7b (as amended);
(B) be a local unit consisting of trained and
equipped emergency response, public health, and
medical personnel formed pursuant to Section 2801 of
the Public Health Services Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 300hh
(as amended);
(C) be operated by a:
(i) disaster relief organization;
(ii) licensing board;
(iii) national or regional association of
licensing boards or health practitioners;
(iv) health facility that provides
comprehensive inpatient and outpatient health-care
services, including a tertiary care, teaching
hospital, or ambulatory surgical treatment center;
or
(v) governmental entity; or
(D) be designated by the Illinois Department of
Public Health as a registration system for purposes of
this Act.
(b) While an emergency declaration is in effect, the

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Illinois Department of Public Health, a person authorized to
act on behalf of the Illinois Department of Public Health, or a
host entity or disaster relief organization, may confirm
whether volunteer health practitioners utilized in this State
are registered with a registration system that complies with
subsection (a). Confirmation is limited to obtaining
identities of the practitioners from the system and determining
whether the system indicates that the practitioners are
licensed and in good standing.
(c) Upon request of a person in this State authorized under
subsection (b), or a similarly authorized person in another
state, a registration system located in this State shall notify
the person of the identities of volunteer health practitioners
and whether the practitioners are licensed and in good
standing.
(d) A host entity or disaster relief organization is not
required to use the services of a volunteer health practitioner
even if the practitioner is registered with a registration
system that indicates that the practitioner is licensed and in
good standing.
Section 6. Recognition of volunteer health practitioners
licensed in other states.
(a) While an emergency declaration is in effect, a
volunteer health practitioner, registered with a registration
system that complies with Section 5 and licensed and in good

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standing in the state upon which the practitioner's
registration is based, may practice in this State to the extent
authorized by this Act as if the practitioner were licensed in
this State.
(b) A volunteer health practitioner qualified under
subsection (a) is not entitled to the protections of this Act
if any license of the practitioner is suspended, revoked, or
subject to an agency order limiting or restricting practice
privileges, or has been voluntarily terminated under threat of
sanction.
Section 7. No effect on credentialing and privileging.
(a) In this Section:
(1) "Credentialing" means obtaining, verifying, and
assessing the qualifications of a health practitioner to
provide treatment, care, or services in or for a health
facility.
(2) "Privileging" means the authorizing by an
appropriate authority, such as a governing body, of a
health practitioner to provide specific treatment, care,
or services at a health facility subject to limits based on
factors that include license, education, training,
experience, competence, health status, and specialized
skill.
(b) This Act does not affect credentialing or privileging
standards of a health facility and does not preclude a health

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facility from waiving or modifying those standards while an
emergency declaration is in effect.
Section 8. Provision of volunteer health or veterinary
services; administrative sanctions.
(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c), a volunteer health
practitioner shall adhere to the scope of practice for a
similarly licensed practitioner established by the licensing
provisions, practice Acts, or other laws of this State.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), this
Act does not authorize a volunteer health practitioner to
provide services that are outside the practitioner's scope of
practice, even if a similarly licensed practitioner in this
State would be permitted to provide the services.
(c) Consistent with the Department of Professional
Regulation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois and
the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency, the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation, or the Illinois Department of Public
Health may modify or restrict the health or veterinary services
that volunteer health practitioners may provide pursuant to
this Act during an emergency. A proclamation under this
subsection may take effect immediately, without prior notice or
comment, and is not a rule within the meaning of the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act.

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(d) A host entity or disaster relief organization may
restrict the health or veterinary services that a volunteer
health practitioner may provide pursuant to this Act.
(e) A volunteer health practitioner does not engage in
unauthorized practice unless the practitioner has reason to
know of any limitation, modification, or restriction under this
Section or that a similarly licensed practitioner in this State
would not be permitted to provide the services. A volunteer
health practitioner has reason to know of a limitation,
modification, or restriction or that a similarly licensed
practitioner in this State would not be permitted to provide a
service if:
(1) the practitioner knows the limitation,
modification, or restriction exists or that a similarly
licensed practitioner in this State would not be permitted
to provide the service; or
(2) from all the facts and circumstances known to the
practitioner at the relevant time, a reasonable person
would conclude that the limitation, modification, or
restriction exists or that a similarly licensed
practitioner in this State would not be permitted to
provide the service.
(f) In addition to the authority granted by law of this
State to regulate the conduct of health practitioners, a
licensing board or other disciplinary authority in this State:
(1) may impose administrative sanctions upon a health

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practitioner licensed in this State for conduct outside of
this State in response to an out-of-state emergency;
(2) may impose administrative sanctions upon a
practitioner not licensed in this State for conduct in this
State in response to an in-state emergency; and
(3) shall report any administrative sanctions imposed
upon a practitioner licensed in another state to the
appropriate licensing board or other disciplinary
authority in any other state in which the practitioner is
known to be licensed.
(g) In determining whether to impose administrative
sanctions under subsection (f), a licensing board or other
disciplinary authority shall consider the circumstances in
which the conduct took place, including any exigent
circumstances, and the practitioner's scope of practice,
education, training, experience, and specialized skill.
Section 9. Relation to other laws.
(a) This Act does not limit rights, privileges, or
immunities provided to volunteer health practitioners by laws
other than this Act. Except as otherwise provided in subsection
(b), this Act does not affect requirements for the use of
health practitioners pursuant to the Emergency Management
Assistance Compact.
(b) The Illinois Emergency Management Agency, pursuant to
any mutual aid compacts entered into by this State, may

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incorporate into the emergency forces of this State volunteer
health practitioners who are not officers or employees of this
State, a political subdivision of this State, or a municipality
or other local government within this State.
Section 10. Regulatory authority. The Illinois Emergency
Management Agency may adopt rules to implement this Act. The
Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall consult with and
consider the recommendations of the entity established to
coordinate the implementation of any mutual aid compacts
entered into by this State and may also consult with and
consider rules adopted by similarly empowered agencies in other
states to promote uniformity of application of this Act and
make the emergency response systems in the various states
reasonably compatible.
Section 11. Workers' compensation coverage. A volunteer
health practitioner providing health or veterinary services
pursuant to this Act may be considered a volunteer in
accordance with subsection (k) of Section 10 of the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency Act for the purposes of worker's
compensation coverage.
Section 12. Uniformity of application and construction. In
applying and construing this Uniform Act, consideration must be
given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect

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to its subject matter among states that enact it.