Bill Text: IL HB0587 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 34-5)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-11-20 - Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading November 21, 2024 [HB0587 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB0587-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by
changing Section 9.6 as follows:
(210 ILCS 85/9.6)
Sec. 9.6. Patient protection from abuse.
(a) No administrator, agent, or employee of a hospital or
a hospital affiliate, or a member of a hospital's its medical
staff, may abuse a patient in the hospital or in a facility
operated by a hospital affiliate.
(b) Any hospital administrator, agent, employee, or
medical staff member, or an administrator, employee, or
physician employed by a hospital affiliate, who has reasonable
cause to believe that any patient with whom he or she has
direct contact has been subjected to abuse in the hospital or
hospital affiliate shall promptly report or cause a report to
be made to a designated hospital administrator responsible for
providing such reports to the Department as required by this
Section.
(c) Retaliation against a person who lawfully and in good
faith makes a report under this Section is prohibited.
(d) Upon receiving a report under subsection (b) of this

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

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

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

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

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