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1 AN ACT concerning health.


2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3represented in the General Assembly:



4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
5Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and Education Act.

6 Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the 
7following:
8  (1) Parkinson's disease is a debilitating, painful, 
9 and incurable neurological disorder of unknown origin that 
10 disrupts and can end the lives of those who suffer from it.
11  (2) Parkinson's disease causes diverse symptoms, 
12 including rigidity, slowness of movement, poor balance, 
13 and tremors, which lead to an impaired ability to walk, 
14 speak, swallow, and even breathe, so that the end result 
15 can be a clear mind trapped inside a body that has lost its 
16 ability to function.
17  (3) The visible symptoms of Parkinson's disease are 
18 often mistaken to be a normal part of the aging process.
19  (4) In addition, many people with the disease encounter 
20 precarious legal and personal situations in which they are 
21 erroneously thought to be under the influence of illegal or 
22 prescription drugs or alcohol due to their movement and 
23 gait patterns.
 
 
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1  (5) Parkinson's disease takes an enormous emotional, 
2 psychological, and physical toll on caregivers and 
3 families, potentially overwhelming their lives.
4  (6) It has been estimated that 1,500,000 Americans have 
5 been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, 50,000 more are 
6 diagnosed nationally each year, and another 1,500,000 
7 persons have the disease but have never seen a neurologist.
8  (7) Parkinson's disease costs Americans 
9 $25,000,000,000 per year, including medical treatments, 
10 disability payments, and lost productivity.
11  (8) Medications can only control some of the symptoms 
12 of the disease and only for uncertain periods of time.
13  (9) The federal Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease 
14 Research Act of 1997 provides federal funding through the 
15 National Institutes of Health for Parkinson's disease, and 
16 April 11 has been proclaimed to be World Parkinson's Day in 
17 order to recognize the need for more research and help in 
18 dealing with the devastating effects of this disease.
19  (10) Increased public awareness and education are 
20 needed among health care, social services, judicial, law 
21 enforcement, and emergency medical services personnel in 
22 order to better respond to the needs of Parkinson's disease 
23 patients and their caregivers and families.
24  (11) It is imperative for Illinois to commit itself to 
25 actively support such public awareness and education 
26 efforts throughout the State in order to better meet the 
 
 
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1 needs of its citizens who are suffering from Parkinson's 
2 disease.

3 Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
4 "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
5 "Director" means the Director of Public Health.
6 "Program" means the Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness 
7and Education Program established under this Act.


8 Section 15. Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and 
9Education Program. 
10 (a) Subject to appropriation, the Director shall establish 
11a Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and Education Program.
12 (b) The purpose of the Program is to promote public 
13awareness of Parkinson's disease and the value of early 
14detection and possible treatments, including the benefits and 
15risks of those treatments. The Department may accept for that 
16purpose any special grant of moneys, services, or property from 
17the federal government or any of its agencies, or from any 
18foundation, organization, or medical school.
19 (c) The Program shall include the following:
20  (1) Development of a public education and outreach 
21 campaign to promote Parkinson's disease awareness and 
22 education, including, but not limited to, the following 
23 subjects:
24   (A) the cause and nature of the disease;
 
 
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1   (B) diagnostic procedures and appropriate 
2 indications for their use;
3   (C) lifestyle issues relating to how a person copes 
4 with Parkinson's disease, including, but not limited 
5 to, nutrition, diet, and physical exercise;
6   (D) environmental safety and injury prevention; 
7 and
8   (E) availability of Parkinson's disease diagnostic 
9 and treatment services in the community.
10  (2) Development of educational materials to be made 
11 available to consumers through local physicians, 
12 hospitals, clinics, and boards of health.
13  (3) Development of professional education programs for 
14 health care providers to assist them in understanding 
15 research findings and the subjects set forth in paragraph 
16 (1) of this subsection.
17  (4) Development of educational programs for other 
18 personnel, including judicial staff, police officers, fire 
19 fighters, and social services and emergency medical 
20 service providers, to assist them in recognizing the 
21 symptoms of Parkinson's disease and understanding how to 
22 respond to the needs of persons with the disease in the 
23 course of performing their duties, including dissemination 
24 of the informational booklet prepared under Section 20 of 
25 this Act.
26  (5) Development and maintenance of a list of current 
 
 
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1 providers of specialized services for the diagnosis and 
2 treatment of Parkinson's disease. Dissemination of the 
3 list shall be accompanied by a description of diagnostic 
4 procedures, appropriate indications for their use, and a 
5 cautionary statement about the current status of 
6 Parkinson's disease research and treatment. The statement 
7 shall also indicate that the Department does not endorse 
8 specific Parkinson's disease programs or centers in this 
9 State.

10 Section 20. Informational booklet.
11 (a) The Department, in consultation with the Midwest 
12Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association, any 
13public or private university medical school that the Director 
14deems useful, including, but not limited to, Loyola Medical 
15School, and the Department on Aging, shall prepare an 
16informational booklet in English, Spanish, and Mandarin that 
17provides, in a manner easily understandable by a patient or 
18other non-health care professional, information about the 
19symptoms and treatment of Parkinson's disease. The booklet may 
20contain any other information that the Department deems 
21necessary and may be revised by the Department whenever new 
22information about Parkinson's disease becomes available.
23 (b) The Department shall make a supply of the booklets 
24available to all licensed health care facilities engaged in the 
25diagnosis or treatment of Parkinson's disease and to those 
 
 
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1personnel described in paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of 
2Section 15 of this Act, as well as to health care 
3professionals, community health centers, and members of the 
4public upon their request. The Department shall publicize and 
5make available the booklet to the maximum extent possible, and 
6shall make available electronically on its website in English 
7and Spanish the information contained in the booklet.

8 Section 25. Rules. The Director shall adopt rules to 
9effectuate the purposes of this Act.