2005 Illinois Code - Chapter 210 Health Facilities 210 ILCS 87/ Language Assistance Services Act.
(210 ILCS 87/1) Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Language Assistance Services Act. (Source: P.A. 88‑244.)
(210 ILCS 87/5) Sec. 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds and declares
that Illinois is becoming a land
of people whose languages and cultures give the state a global quality. The
Legislature further finds and declares that access to basic health care
services is the right of every resident of the State, and that access to
information regarding basic health care services is an essential element of
that right. Therefore, it is the intent of the General Assembly that where language or
communication barriers exist between patients and the staff of a health
facility, arrangements shall be made for interpreters or bilingual
professional staff to ensure adequate and speedy communication between patients
and staff. (Source: P.A. 88‑244.)
(210 ILCS 87/10) Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: "Department" means the Department of Public Health. "Interpreter" means a person fluent in English and in the necessary
language of the patient who can accurately speak, read, and readily interpret
the necessary second language, or a person who can accurately sign and read
sign language. Interpreters shall have the ability to translate the names of
body parts and to describe completely symptoms and injuries in both languages.
Interpreters may include members of the medical or professional staff. "Language or communication barriers" means either of the following: (1) With respect to spoken language, barriers that
are experienced by limited‑English‑speaking or non‑English‑speaking individuals who speak the same primary language, if those individuals constitute at least 5% of the patients served by the health facility annually.
(2) With respect to sign language, barriers that are
experienced by individuals who are deaf and whose primary language is sign language.
"Health facility" means a hospital licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act
or a long‑term care facility licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act. (Source: P.A. 93‑564, eff. 1‑1‑04.)
(210 ILCS 87/15) Sec. 15. Language assistance services. To insure access to
health care information and services for
limited‑English‑speaking or non‑English‑speaking residents and deaf residents,
a health facility must do one or more of the following: (1) Review existing policies regarding interpreters for patients with
limited English proficiency and for patients who are deaf, including the
availability of staff to act as interpreters. (2) Adopt and review annually a policy for providing language assistance
services to patients with language or communication barriers. The policy shall
include procedures for providing, to the extent possible as determined by the
facility, the use of an interpreter whenever a language or communication
barrier
exists, except where the patient, after being informed of the availability of
the interpreter service, chooses to use a family member or friend who
volunteers to interpret. The procedures shall be designed to maximize
efficient use of interpreters and minimize delays in providing interpreters to
patients. The procedures shall insure, to the extent possible as determined
by the facility, that
interpreters are available, either on the premises or accessible by telephone,
24 hours a day. The facility shall annually transmit to the Department of
Public Health a
copy of the updated policy and shall include a description of the facility's
efforts to
insure adequate and speedy communication between patients with language or
communication barriers and staff. (3) Develop, and post in conspicuous locations, notices that advise patients
and their families of the availability of interpreters, the procedure for
obtaining an interpreter, and the telephone numbers to call for filing
complaints concerning interpreter service problems, including, but not limited
to, a
T.D.D. number for the hearing impaired. The notices shall be posted, at a
minimum, in the emergency room, the admitting area, the facility entrance, and
the
outpatient area. Notices shall inform patients that interpreter services are
available on request, shall list the languages for which interpreter services
are available, and shall instruct patients to direct complaints regarding
interpreter services to the Department of Public Health, including the
telephone
numbers to call for that purpose. (4) Identify and record a patient's primary language and dialect on one or
more of the following: a patient medical chart, hospital bracelet,
bedside notice, or nursing card. (5) Prepare and maintain, as needed, a list of interpreters who have
been identified as proficient in sign language and in the languages of the
population of the geographical area served by the facility who have the
ability to translate
the names of body parts, injuries, and symptoms. (6) Notify the facility's employees of the facility's commitment to provide
interpreters to
all patients who request them. (7) Review all standardized written forms, waivers, documents, and
informational materials available to patients on admission to determine which
to translate into languages other than English. (8) Consider providing its nonbilingual staff with standardized picture and
phrase sheets for use in routine communications with patients who have language
or communication barriers. (9) Develop community liaison groups to enable the facility and the
limited‑English‑speaking, non‑English‑speaking, and deaf communities to insure
the adequacy of the
interpreter services. (Source: P.A. 93‑564, eff. 1‑1‑04.)
(210 ILCS 87/16) Sec. 16. Complaint system. The Department shall develop and implement a
complaint system through which the Department
may receive complaints related to violations of this Act. The Department
shall establish a complaint system or utilize an existing Department complaint
system. The complaint system shall include (i) a complaint verification process
by which the Department determines the validity of a complaint and (ii) an
opportunity for a health facility to resolve the complaint through an informal
dispute resolution process. If the complaint is not resolved informally, then the Department shall serve
a notice of violation of this Act upon the health facility. The notice of
violation shall be in writing and shall specify the nature of the violation and
the statutory provision alleged to have been violated. The notice shall inform
the health facility of the action the Department may take under the Act, the
amount of any financial penalty to be imposed and the opportunity for the
health facility to enter into a plan of correction. The notice shall also
inform the health facility of its rights to a hearing to contest the alleged
violation under the Administrative Procedure Act. (Source: P.A. 93‑564, eff. 1‑1‑04.)
(210 ILCS 87/17) Sec. 17. Plan of correction; penalty. If the Department finds that a
health facility is in violation of this Act, the health facility may submit to
the Department, for its approval, a plan of correction. If a health facility
violates an approved plan of correction within 6 months of its submission, the
Department may impose a penalty on the health facility. For the first violation
of an approved
plan of
correction, the Department may impose a penalty of up to $100. For a second or
subsequent violation of an approved plan of correction the Department may
impose a
penalty of up to $250. The total fines imposed under this Act against a health
facility in
a twelve month period shall not exceed $5,000. Penalties imposed under this Act shall be paid to the Department and
deposited in
the Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund. (Source: P.A. 93‑564, eff. 1‑1‑04.)
(210 ILCS 87/18) Sec. 18. Rules. The Department shall adopt any rules necessary for the
administration and enforcement of this Act. The Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act shall apply to all administrative rules and procedures of the
Department under this Act. (Source: P.A. 93‑564, eff. 1‑1‑04.)
(210 ILCS 87/19) Sec. 19. Administrative Review Law. The Administrative Review Law shall
apply to and govern all proceedings for judicial review of final administrative
decisions of the Department under this Act. (Source: P.A. 93‑564, eff. 1‑1‑04.)
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