Bill Text: IL HB3247 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Creates the Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and Education Act. Provides that the Director of Public Health shall establish a Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and Education Program. Provides that the purpose of the Program shall be to promote public awareness of Parkinson's disease and the value of early detection and possible treatments, including the benefits and risks of those treatments. Provides that the Department of Public Health may accept for that purpose any special grant of moneys, services, or property from the federal government or any of its agencies, or from any foundation, organization, or medical school. Provides that the Program shall focus on the development of specified programs and services. Provides that the Department shall prepare an information booklet in English, Spanish, and Mandarin which provides information about the symptoms and treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-5)

Status: (Passed) 2019-07-19 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0107 [HB3247 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HB3247-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning health.
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
Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and Education Act.
Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the
following:
(1) Parkinson's disease is a debilitating, painful,
and incurable neurological disorder of unknown origin that
disrupts and can end the lives of those who suffer from it.
(2) Parkinson's disease causes diverse symptoms,
including rigidity, slowness of movement, poor balance,
and tremors, which lead to an impaired ability to walk,
speak, swallow, and even breathe, so that the end result
can be a clear mind trapped inside a body that has lost its
ability to function.
(3) The visible symptoms of Parkinson's disease are
often mistaken to be a normal part of the aging process.
(4) In addition, many people with the disease encounter
precarious legal and personal situations in which they are
erroneously thought to be under the influence of illegal or
prescription drugs or alcohol due to their movement and
gait patterns.

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(5) Parkinson's disease takes an enormous emotional,
psychological, and physical toll on caregivers and
families, potentially overwhelming their lives.
(6) It has been estimated that 1,500,000 Americans have
been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, 50,000 more are
diagnosed nationally each year, and another 1,500,000
persons have the disease but have never seen a neurologist.
(7) Parkinson's disease costs Americans
$25,000,000,000 per year, including medical treatments,
disability payments, and lost productivity.
(8) Medications can only control some of the symptoms
of the disease and only for uncertain periods of time.
(9) The federal Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease
Research Act of 1997 provides federal funding through the
National Institutes of Health for Parkinson's disease, and
April 11 has been proclaimed to be World Parkinson's Day in
order to recognize the need for more research and help in
dealing with the devastating effects of this disease.
(10) Increased public awareness and education are
needed among health care, social services, judicial, law
enforcement, and emergency medical services personnel in
order to better respond to the needs of Parkinson's disease
patients and their caregivers and families.
(11) It is imperative for Illinois to commit itself to
actively support such public awareness and education
efforts throughout the State in order to better meet the

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needs of its citizens who are suffering from Parkinson's
disease.
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Department" means the Department of Public Health.
"Director" means the Director of Public Health.
"Program" means the Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness
and Education Program established under this Act.
Section 15. Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and
Education Program.
(a) Subject to appropriation, the Director shall establish
a Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and Education Program.
(b) The purpose of the Program is to promote public
awareness of Parkinson's disease and the value of early
detection and possible treatments, including the benefits and
risks of those treatments. The Department may accept for that
purpose any special grant of moneys, services, or property from
the federal government or any of its agencies, or from any
foundation, organization, or medical school.
(c) The Program shall include the following:
(1) Development of a public education and outreach
campaign to promote Parkinson's disease awareness and
education, including, but not limited to, the following
subjects:
(A) the cause and nature of the disease;

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(B) diagnostic procedures and appropriate
indications for their use;
(C) lifestyle issues relating to how a person copes
with Parkinson's disease, including, but not limited
to, nutrition, diet, and physical exercise;
(D) environmental safety and injury prevention;
and
(E) availability of Parkinson's disease diagnostic
and treatment services in the community.
(2) Development of educational materials to be made
available to consumers through local physicians,
hospitals, clinics, and boards of health.
(3) Development of professional education programs for
health care providers to assist them in understanding
research findings and the subjects set forth in paragraph
(1) of this subsection.
(4) Development of educational programs for other
personnel, including judicial staff, police officers, fire
fighters, and social services and emergency medical
service providers, to assist them in recognizing the
symptoms of Parkinson's disease and understanding how to
respond to the needs of persons with the disease in the
course of performing their duties, including dissemination
of the informational booklet prepared under Section 20 of
this Act.
(5) Development and maintenance of a list of current

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providers of specialized services for the diagnosis and
treatment of Parkinson's disease. Dissemination of the
list shall be accompanied by a description of diagnostic
procedures, appropriate indications for their use, and a
cautionary statement about the current status of
Parkinson's disease research and treatment. The statement
shall also indicate that the Department does not endorse
specific Parkinson's disease programs or centers in this
State.
Section 20. Informational booklet.
(a) The Department, in consultation with the Midwest
Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association, any
public or private university medical school that the Director
deems useful, including, but not limited to, Loyola Medical
School, and the Department on Aging, shall prepare an
informational booklet in English, Spanish, and Mandarin that
provides, in a manner easily understandable by a patient or
other non-health care professional, information about the
symptoms and treatment of Parkinson's disease. The booklet may
contain any other information that the Department deems
necessary and may be revised by the Department whenever new
information about Parkinson's disease becomes available.
(b) The Department shall make a supply of the booklets
available to all licensed health care facilities engaged in the
diagnosis or treatment of Parkinson's disease and to those

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personnel described in paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of
Section 15 of this Act, as well as to health care
professionals, community health centers, and members of the
public upon their request. The Department shall publicize and
make available the booklet to the maximum extent possible, and
shall make available electronically on its website in English
and Spanish the information contained in the booklet.
Section 25. Rules. The Director shall adopt rules to
effectuate the purposes of this Act.