DOC-HOSPICE/PALLIATIVE CARE

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB1524

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Full Text of SB1524

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SB1524 - 104th General Assembly

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SB1524 Engrossed
LRB104 08042 RLC 18088 b
1

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 1.
This Act may be referred to as the Eddie Thomas
5
Act.

6

Section 5.
The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
7
adding Section 3-2-15 as follows:

8

(730 ILCS 5/3-2-15 new)
9

Sec. 3-2-15.
Department of Corrections; report of hospice
10
and palliative care for committed persons.

11

(a) Purposes. The General Assembly finds that:
12

(1) The United States prison population is aging
13

rapidly.

14

(2) Illinois' prison population is similarly aging
15

rapidly, with over 1,000 prisoners aged 65 or older.

16

(3) As a result of the aging prison population more
17

committed persons are in need of end-of-life care and
18

support services.

19

(4) The Department of Corrections has a policy on
20

end-of-life care, which provides, in part, that the goals
21

are: "safe, dignified and comfortable dying,
22

self-determined life closure and effective grieving".

SB1524 Engrossed
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LRB104 08042 RLC 18088 b
1

(5) The Department of Corrections does not have a
2

formal hospice program; rather, end-of-life care is
3

provided on a prison-by-prison basis which results in
4

inconsistent care for committed persons who have been
5

diagnosed with terminal illnesses or who are expected to
6

reach the end of their life.

7

(6) At some prisons, end-of-life care is at times
8

provided, in part, by other committed persons assigned as
9

aides.

10

(7) The Department of Corrections does not have
11

centralized or consistent data on the number of committed
12

persons receiving end-of-life care.
13

(8) The Department of Corrections does not have
14

centralized or consistent data on the number of prisoner
15

aides who are assigned to assist in providing end-of-life
16

care.

17

(9) The Department of Corrections does not currently
18

have a system for tracking patient outcomes or grievances
19

related to the quality of end-of-life care provided.

20

(10) Data on the end-of-life care provided in the
21

Department of Corrections is needed to give the General
22

Assembly and the public an understanding of the
23

Department's approach to end-of-life care for terminally
24

ill committed persons in its custody.

25

(11) Eddie Thomas was a committed person of the
26

Department of Corrections who died alone in the back of a

SB1524 Engrossed
- 3 -
LRB104 08042 RLC 18088 b
1

prison infirmary without any end-of-life care just 5
2

months after being diagnosed with late stage lung cancer.

3

(b) Definitions. In this Section:

4

"Advance directive for health care" means written
5
instructions of the patient's wishes as to how future care
6
should be delivered or declined, including decisions that must
7
be made when the patient is not capable of expressing those
8
wishes. Advance directives may also appoint an agent with
9
power of attorney for health care.

10

"Department" means the Department of Corrections.

11

"Hospice and palliative care" means physical, social,
12
emotional, and spiritual support care for committed persons
13
who have been diagnosed with a known terminal condition with a
14
life expectancy of 6 months or less. This includes, but is not
15
limited to, assistance with activities of daily living and
16
comfort care.

17

"Peer support" refers to assistance and companionship
18
provided by committed persons who have been trained to offer
19
emotional, social, and practical support to fellow committed
20
persons receiving hospice and palliative care.

21

"Terminal condition" means an incurable or irreversible
22
condition that, without the administration of life-sustaining
23
procedures, will, according to reasonable medical judgment,
24
result in death within a relatively short period of time; or a
25
state of permanent unconsciousness from which, to a reasonable
26
degree of medical certainty, there can be no recovery.

SB1524 Engrossed
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LRB104 08042 RLC 18088 b
1

(c) Reporting requirement. No later than December 1 of
2
each year, the Department shall prepare a report to be
3
published on its website that contains, at a minimum, the
4
following information about hospice and palliative care in its
5
institutions and facilities during the prior fiscal year:
6

(1) demographic data of committed persons who received
7

hospice and palliative care, separated by the following
8

categories:

9

(A) race or ethnicity;

10

(B) gender;

11

(C) age;

12

(D) primary cause of terminal illness or
13

condition; and

14

(E) length of incarceration prior to receiving
15

end-of-life care;

16

(2) data on the number of committed persons in the
17

Department's hospice and palliative care programs,
18

including the following:

19

(A) the total number of committed persons enrolled
20

in the Department's hospice and palliative care
21

programs;

22

(B) the total number of admissions into and
23

discharges from the Department's hospice and
24

palliative care programs, including the number of
25

committed persons who died while in the program and
26

the number of committed persons who were removed from

SB1524 Engrossed
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LRB104 08042 RLC 18088 b
1

the program for other reasons; and

2

(C) the number of committed persons denied entry
3

into the Department's hospice and palliative care
4

programs, including any reasons that they were denied;

5

(3) data on the timing of hospice and palliative care
6

programming, including the following:

7

(A) the average length of time that committed
8

persons receive hospice and palliative care; and

9

(B) the average length of time between the
10

diagnosis of a terminal condition and admission into a
11

hospice and palliative care program;

12

(4) the number of committed persons in the custody of
13

the Department who died, separated by the following
14

categories:

15

(A) committed persons who died while receiving
16

hospice and palliative care; and
17

(B) committed persons who died without receiving
18

hospice and palliative care, and the number of such
19

committed persons who died as a result of natural,
20

accidental, suicidal, or homicidal causes;

21

(5) policies and administrative directives of each
22

Department institution and facility regarding the
23

institution of hospice and palliative care. This data
24

shall include the following information:

25

(A) the name of each institution and facility that
26

offers hospice and palliative care services;

SB1524 Engrossed
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LRB104 08042 RLC 18088 b
1

(B) criteria to be eligible for hospice and
2

palliative care services, both Department-wide and at
3

each institution and facility;

4

(C) a list of the types of hospice and palliative
5

care services that are offered in each institution and
6

facility. This list shall include, but is not be
7

limited to, pain management, psychological counseling,
8

peer support, and chaplain services. If available,
9

this list shall also include supportive services
10

offered to family members of committed persons;

11

(D) the accreditation status of the Department's
12

hospice and palliative care programs, if available;

13

(E) the procedures for committed persons in the
14

Department's custody to request an advance directive
15

for health care in each institution and facility;

16

(F) the procedures for health care or legal staff
17

to assist committed persons in completing advance
18

directive instruments; and

19

(G) the procedures for health care providers to
20

implement advance directives for health care in each
21

institution and facility;

22

(6) the staff available for hospice and palliative
23

care. This data shall include the following:

24

(A) the number of specialized staff at each
25

institution and facility, including palliative care
26

physicians, nurses, and social workers;

SB1524 Engrossed
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LRB104 08042 RLC 18088 b
1

(B) the number of volunteers dedicated to hospice
2

and palliative care, separated by the following
3

categories:

4

(i) volunteers who are committed persons of
5

the Department;

6

(ii) volunteers who are not committed persons
7

of the Department; and

8

(iii) the ratio between the number of staff
9

and the number of patients in the Department's
10

hospice and palliative care programs; and

11

(7) the cost of the Department's hospice and
12

palliative care programs, including the following:

13

(A) the annual costs associated with hospice and
14

palliative care across the Department;

15

(B) the sources of funding for hospice and
16

palliative care services; and
17

(C) the annual costs associated with hospice and
18

palliative care at each Department institution and
19

facility.

20

All such data shall be anonymized to protect the privacy
21
of the committed persons involved in the hospice and
22
palliative care programs.

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