Public Act 097-0866

SB0680 Enrolled LRB097 04946 ASK 44986 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Nursing Home Care Act is amended by changing

Section 3-206.05 as follows:

(210 ILCS 45/3-206.05)

Sec. 3-206.05. Safe resident handling policy.

(a) In this Section:

"Health care worker" means an individual providing direct

resident care services who may be required to lift, transfer,

reposition, or move a resident.

"Nurse" means an advanced practice nurse, a registered

nurse, or a licensed practical nurse licensed under the Nurse

Practice Act.

"Safe lifting equipment and accessories" means mechanical

equipment designed to lift, move, reposition, and transfer

residents, including, but not limited to, fixed and portable

ceiling lifts, sit-to-stand lifts, slide sheets and boards,

slings, and repositioning and turning sheets.

"Safe lifting team" means at least 2 individuals who are

trained and proficient in the use of both safe lifting

techniques and safe lifting equipment and accessories.

"Adjustable equipment" means products and devices that may

be adapted for use by individuals with physical and other

disabilities in order to optimize accessibility. Adjustable

equipment includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) Wheelchairs with adjustable footrest height and

seat width and depth.

(2) Height-adjustable, drop-arm commode chairs and

height-adjustable shower gurneys or shower benches to

enable individuals with mobility disabilities to use a

toilet and to shower safely and with increased comfort.

(3) Accessible weight scales that accommodate

wheelchair users.

(4) Height-adjustable beds that can be lowered to

accommodate individuals with mobility disabilities in

getting in and out of bed and that utilize drop-down side

railings for stability and positioning support.

(5) Universally designed or adaptable call buttons and

motorized bed position and height controls that can be

operated by persons with limited or no reach range, fine

motor ability, or vision.

(6) Height-adjustable platform tables for physical

therapy with drop-down side railings for stability and

positioning support.

(7) Therapeutic rehabilitation and exercise machines

with foot straps to secure the user's feet to the pedals

and with cuffs or splints to augment the user's grip

strength on handles.

(b) A facility must adopt and ensure implementation of a

policy to identify, assess, and develop strategies to control

risk of injury to residents and nurses and other health care

workers associated with the lifting, transferring,

repositioning, or movement of a resident. The policy shall

establish a process that, at a minimum, includes all of the

following:

(1) Analysis of the risk of injury to residents and

nurses and other health care workers taking into account

the resident handling needs of the resident populations

served by the facility and the physical environment in

which the resident handling and movement occurs.

(2) Education and training of nurses and other direct

resident care providers in the identification, assessment,

and control of risks of injury to residents and nurses and

other health care workers during resident handling and on

safe lifting policies and techniques and current lifting

equipment.

(3) Evaluation of alternative ways to reduce risks

associated with resident handling, including evaluation of

equipment and the environment.

(4) Restriction, to the extent feasible with existing

equipment and aids, of manual resident handling or movement

of all or most of a resident's weight except for emergency,

life-threatening, or otherwise exceptional circumstances.

(5) Procedures for a nurse to refuse to perform or be

involved in resident handling or movement that the nurse in

good faith believes will expose a resident or nurse or

other health care worker to an unacceptable risk of injury.

(6) Development of strategies to control risk of injury

to residents and nurses and other health care workers

associated with the lifting, transferring, repositioning,

or movement of a resident.

(7) In developing architectural plans for construction

or remodeling of a facility or unit of a facility in which

resident handling and movement occurs, consideration of

the feasibility of incorporating resident handling

equipment or the physical space and construction design

needed to incorporate that equipment.

(8) Fostering and maintaining resident safety,

dignity, self-determination, and choice, including the

following policies, strategies, and procedures:

(A) The existence and availability of a trained

safe lifting team.

(B) A policy of advising residents of a range of

transfer and lift options, including adjustable

diagnostic and treatment equipment, mechanical lifts,

and provision of a trained safe lifting team.

(C) The right of a competent resident, or the

guardian of a resident adjudicated incompetent, to

choose among the range of transfer and lift options

consistent with the procedures set forth under

subdivision (b)(5) and the policies set forth under

this paragraph (8), subject to the provisions of

subparagraph (E) of this paragraph (8).

(D) Procedures for documenting, upon admission and

as status changes, a mobility assessment and plan for

lifting, transferring, repositioning, or movement of a

resident, including the choice of the resident or the

resident's guardian among the range of transfer and

lift options.

(E) Incorporation of such safe lifting procedures,

techniques, and equipment as are consistent with

applicable federal law.

(c) Safe lifting teams must receive specialized, in-depth

training that includes, but need not be limited to, the

following:

(1) Types and operation of equipment.

(2) Safe manual lifting and moving techniques.

(3) Ergonomic principles in the assessment of risk both

to nurses and other workers and to residents.

(4) The selection, safe use, location, and condition of

appropriate pieces of equipment individualized to each

resident's medical and physical conditions and

preferences.

(5) Procedures for advising residents of the full range

of transfer and lift options and for documenting

individualized lifting plans that include resident choice.

Specialized, in-depth training may rely on federal

standards and guidelines such as the United States Department

of Labor Guidelines for Nursing Homes, supplemented by federal

requirements for barrier removal, independent access, and

means of accommodation optimizing independent movement and

transfer.

(Source: P.A. 96-389, eff. 1-1-10.)