Public Act 103-0261
 
SB2322 EnrolledLRB103 26751 CPF 56407 b


  
    AN ACT concerning regulation.
  
 
    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 
Essential Support Person Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
    "Essential support" means support that includes, but is 
not limited to:
        (1) assistance with activities of daily living; and
        (2) physical, emotional, psychological, and 
    socialization support for the resident.
    "Facility" means any of the following: a facility as 
defined in Section 10 of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related 
Dementias Special Care Disclosure Act; an assisted living 
establishment or shared housing establishment as defined in 
Section 10 of the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act; a 
Community Living Facility as defined in Section 3 of the 
Community Living Facilities Licensing Act; a facility as 
defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities Act; a 
continuum of care facility as defined in Section 10 of the 
Continuum of Care Services for the Developmentally Disabled 
Act; a facility as defined in Section 1-113 of the Nursing Home 
Care Act; a MC/DD facility as defined in Section 1-113 of the 
MC/DD Act; an ID/DD facility as defined in Section 1-113 of the 
ID/DD Community Care Act; a hospice program as defined in 
Section 3 of the Hospice Program Licensing Act; a Supportive 
Residence as defined in Section 10 of the Supportive 
Residences Licensing Act; a facility as defined in Section 
1-102 of the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 
2013; a home, institution, or other place operated by or under 
the authority of the Department of Veterans' Affairs; an 
Alzheimer's disease management center alternative health care 
model under the Alternative Health Care Delivery Act; and a 
home, institution, or other place that is a State-operated 
mental health or developmental disability center or facility. 
"Facility" does not include a hospital as defined in the 
Hospital Licensing Act or any hospital authorized under the 
University of Illinois Hospital Act.  "Facility" does not 
include any facility that the Department of Public Health or 
the Department of Veterans' Affairs does not regulate.
    "Office" means the Office of State Long Term Care 
Ombudsman.
    "Person-centered care plan" means a care plan for a 
resident developed by the resident or resident's 
representative in consultation with health professionals that 
focuses on the resident's physical, emotional, psychological, 
and socialization needs and describes the resident's right to 
designate a primary essential support person or secondary 
essential support person.
    "Primary essential support person" means a person 
designated by a resident, or the resident's representative, 
who has access to the resident in accordance with rules set by 
the Department to provide essential support according to the 
resident's person-centered care plan.
    "Resident" means a person who is living in a facility or is 
seeking admission to a facility. "Resident" includes a 
guardian of the person or an agent for the person under a power 
of attorney.
    "Secondary essential support person" means a person 
designated by the resident, or the resident's representative, 
to serve as a backup to a primary essential support person.
 
    Section 10. Essential support persons. A resident or the 
resident's representative may designate a primary essential 
support person and a secondary essential support person who 
shall have access to the resident despite general visitation 
restrictions imposed on other visitors, provided that the 
primary essential support person or secondary essential 
support person complies with any rules adopted by the 
Department under Section 15 to protect the health, safety, and 
well-being of residents. A facility must explain to a resident 
or the resident's representative what a primary essential 
support person and a secondary essential support person are.
 
    Section 15. Statewide policy; disaster declaration.
    (a) The Department shall establish a statewide policy for 
visitation with a resident. The policy shall apply to all 
facilities and shall incorporate a resident's need for health, 
safety, and well-being, including, but not limited to, the 
essential support provided by a primary essential support 
person or secondary essential support person.
    (b) If the Governor issues a proclamation under Section 7 
of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act declaring that 
a disaster relating to a public health emergency exists, the 
Department shall, in accordance with applicable federal 
requirements and guidance, set forth requirements for access 
to a resident, provided that the requirements shall 
incorporate a resident's need for essential support provided 
by a primary essential support person or secondary essential 
support person. The requirements shall include, but need not 
be limited to, the circumstances, if any, under which a 
facility may restrict visitors, including, but not limited to, 
primary essential support persons and secondary essential 
support persons designated by a resident. The requirements 
shall address, at a minimum, the following:
        (1) Arrangements for regular visitation by visitors 
    and other residents through various means, including, but 
    not limited to:
            (A) outdoor visitation;
            (B) the use of technologies to facilitate virtual 
        visitation when all other forms of visitation are 
        unavailable; and
            (C) indoor visitation, including, but not limited 
        to, indoor visitation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week 
        when the resident is nearing the end of his or her life 
        as determined by any one or more of  the resident's 
        attending health care professionals.
        (2) The needs of a resident for physical, emotional, 
    psychological, and socialization support based on the 
    resident's person-centered care plan.
        (3) Safety protocols for all visitors to a facility, 
    including, but not limited to, primary essential support 
    persons or secondary essential support persons, if the 
    Governor issues a proclamation under Section 7 of the 
    Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act declaring that a 
    disaster relating to a public health emergency exists.
        (4) Allow access to a resident by a primary essential 
    support person or secondary essential support person 
    despite general visitation restrictions, provided that the 
    primary essential support person or secondary essential 
    support person complies with safety protocols established 
    by the Department.
        (5) If a resident has not designated a primary 
    essential support person, a requirement that facility 
    staff work with the resident or the resident's 
    representative, a family member of the resident, or a Long 
    Term Care Ombudsman to identify a primary essential 
    support person and provide him or her access to the 
    resident.
 
    Section 20. Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman 
requirements.
    (a) The Office of State Long Term Care Ombudsman shall:
        (1) identify, investigate, and resolve complaints that 
    relate to an action, inaction, or decision that may 
    adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of 
    residents, including the welfare and rights of residents 
    with respect to primary essential support persons and 
    secondary essential support persons.
        (2) provide services to protect the health, safety, 
    welfare, and rights of residents, including, but not 
    limited to, services designed to address the impact of 
    socialization, visitation, and the role of primary 
    essential support persons or secondary essential support 
    persons in the health, safety, and well-being of 
    residents;
        (3) inform residents of available means of obtaining 
    the services described in paragraph (2);
        (4) recommend any changes in the laws, rules, or 
    policies of this Act  or actions required under this Act 
    that the Office determines to be appropriate; and
        (5) facilitate public comment on the laws, rules, or 
    policies of this Act  or actions required under this Act.
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.