Section 280.4000  Inpatient Care Facilities

a)         The comprehensive hospice is responsible for placing patients in an inpatient facility that provides 24-hour nursing services in accordance with each patient's plan of care.  Each shift must include a registered nurse who provides or supervises direct patient care to the hospice patient.

b)         The inpatient facility shall provide hospice services in an area designed, equipped, and located for the comfort, convenience, and privacy of each patient and family member.  This area shall have:

1)         Physical space for private patient/family visiting;

2)         Accommodations for family members to remain with the patient throughout the night;

3)         Accommodations for family privacy after a patient's death; and

4)         Decor that is homelike in design and function.

c)         The area of an inpatient facility that is used as the hospice unit shall be located so that the activities of the rest of the facility do not infringe upon the activities of patients, families, staff or visitors in the hospice unit.  Likewise, the presence of the hospice unit within the facility shall not interfere with the usual activities of the facility.

1)         The inpatient facility shall have written policies that permit hospice patients to receive visitors, including small children, at any time of the day or night.

2)         The inpatient facility shall have written policies that permit the hospice patient's family to participate in providing care to the patient, in accordance with the patient care plan.

d)         It is permissible for a room in the designated hospice area to be used for nonhospice curative care, as long as there is written documentation that the nonhospice patient has been informed that the room is located in the hospice unit and the other patients in the unit are receiving palliative care rather than curative care.  Such documentation shall include a statement to this effect, which has been signed by the patient.  Hospice patients and nonhospice patients shall not be placed in the same room.

e)         The hospice shall have a written, dated and signed agreement with the inpatient facility that clearly states the responsibilities of each organization.  Such an agreement is not necessary if the inpatient facility is a  hospice residence that is under the jurisdiction of the same governing body as the hospice.

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 2330, effective January 23, 2008)