Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) Definitions. As
used in this Section:
1)
"Abuse"
means any physical or mental injury or sexual
assault inflicted on a client, patient, or resident, other
than by accidental means, in a health care facility.
(Section 1-103 of the Nursing Home Care Act and Section 27(a) of the
Act)
2)
"Neglect"
means a health care facility's failure to provide, or
willful withholding of, adequate medical care, mental health treatment,
psychiatric rehabilitation, personal care, or assistance with activities of
daily living that is necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish, or
mental illness of a client, patient, or resident.
(Section 1-117 of the Nursing Home Care Act and Section 27(a) of the
Act)
3)
"Misappropriate
property of a resident" means
the deliberate misplacement,
exploitation, or wrongful temporary or permanent use of a client's,
patient's, or resident's belongings or money without the
client's, patient's, or resident's consent. (Section 1-116.5
of the Nursing Home Care Act and Section 27(a) of the Act)
b)
If the Department finds that an
employee or former employee has abused or neglected a resident or
misappropriated property of a resident, or any other applicable
finding, then the Department shall notify the employee or individual of
this finding by certified mail sent to the address contained in the Health Care
Worker Registry. (Section 27(a) of the Act) Notices and citations sent
by certified mail that have been returned to the Department as unclaimed or
refused by the addressee shall be considered served. The notice of the finding
issued by the Department may assert any of the following:
1)
The employee, or former employee,
has abused a resident.
2)
The employee, or former employee, has neglected a
resident.
3)
The
employee, or former employee, has misappropriated resident
property.
4)
The
employee, or former employee, has been convicted of:
A)
A felony;
B)
A misdemeanor, an essential
element of which is dishonesty; or
C)
Any crime that is directly related
to the duties of an employee, acertified nursing assistant,
habilitation aide, or child care aide. (Section 28(a) of the
Act)
c) The
notice shall include a clear and concise statement of the grounds
denoting abuse, neglect, theft, or other applicable finding. (Section
28(a) of the Act) Additionally, the notice shall:
1)
Give the employee or individual an
opportunity to contest the finding in a hearing before the Department or to
submit a written response to the findings in lieu of requesting a
hearing; (Section 27(a) of the Act) and
2) Comply with 77 Ill. Adm. Code 100, Subpart
B.
d) The employee shall
have 30 days after the date of receipt of the notice to request a hearing. The
employee shall submit a written request for a hearing to the Department at the
address identified in the notice. A failure to request a hearing by the
employee within this timeframe shall constitute a waiver of the right to a
hearing.
e)
The
Department has the authority to hold hearings on
contested findings of abuse, neglect, misappropriation of property, or any
other applicable finding.
1) Hearings
shall
be conducted by the Director, or by an
individual designated by the Director as hearing officer to conduct the
hearing. (Section 27(b) of the Act)
2)
The procedure governing
hearings conducted under this Section shall be in accordance
with 77 Ill. Adm. Code 100, Subpart B. In the event of a conflict
between 77 Ill. Adm. Code 100, Subpart B and this Part, this Part shall
prevail. (Section 27(c) of the Act)
3)
A full and complete record shall
be kept of all proceedings, including the notice of hearing, and all other
documents in the nature of pleadings, written motions filed in the proceedings,
and the report and orders of the Director or the Director's designee.
(Section 27(c) of the Act)
4)
The Department may issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and the
giving of testimony by witnesses, and subpoenas duces tecum requiring the
production of books, papers, records, or memoranda.
A)
All subpoenas and subpoenas duces
tecum issued under the Act and this subsection (e)(4) may be
served by mail or by any person of legal age.
B)
The fees of witnesses for
attendance and travel shall be the same as the fees of witnesses before the
courts of this State. The fees will be paid when the witness is excused from
further attendance.
C)
When the witness is subpoenaed at the instance of the Department, the
fees will be paid in the same manner as other expenses of the
Department.
D)
When the witness is subpoenaed at the instance of any other party to
any such proceeding, the Department may require that the cost of service of the
subpoena or subpoena duces tecum and the fee of the witness be borne by the
party at whose instance the witness is summoned.
E)
A subpoena or subpoena duces tecum
issued pursuant to this subsection (e)(4) shall be served in
the same manner as a subpoena issued by a circuit court. (Section
27(d) of the Act)
5)
All testimony will be reported but need not be transcribed unless the
decision is sought to be reviewed under Article III of the Code of
Civil Procedure.A copy or copies of the transcript and record of the
proceedings may be obtained by any interested party subsequent to payment to
the Department of the cost of preparing the copy or copies. (Section
27(c) of the Act)
6)
On the
basis of a hearing, or upon default of the employee, the Director will make a
determination specifying his or her findings and conclusions. A copy of the
determination will be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, or
served personally upon the employee to the address last provided by the
employee to the Department. (Section 27(b) of the Act)
7)
All final administrative decisions
of the Department under the Act and this Part are subject to
judicial review under Article III of the Code of Civil Procedure
and 77 Ill. Adm. Code
100.17.For
purposes of this subsection (e)(7), "administrative decision"
has the meaning provided in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil
Procedure. (Section 27(c) of the Act)
f)
If, after a hearing, or if the
employee or former employee does not timely request a hearing,
the Department finds that the employee or former employee abused a resident,
neglected a resident, or misappropriated resident property or makes any other
applicable finding as set forth in this Section, the finding
shall be denoted on the Health Care Worker Registry. If the
employee chooses to make a statement, a clear and accurate summary
shall also be denoted on the Registry. (Section 27(e) of the Act)