Illinois § 15

§ 15.

Mortality Review Process. (a) The Department of Human Services shall develop an independent team of experts from the academic, private, and public sectors to examine all deaths at facilities and community agencies. (b) The Secretary of Human Services, in consultation with the Director of Public Health, shall appoint members to the independent team of experts, which shall consist of at least one member from each of the following categories: 1. Physicians experienced in providing medical care to individuals with developmental disabilities. 2. Physicians experienced in providing medical care to individuals with mental illness. 3. Registered nurses experienced in providing medical care to individuals with developmental disabilities. 4. Registered nurses experienced in providing medical care to individuals with mental illness. 5. Psychiatrists. 6. Psychologists. 7. Representatives of the Department of Human Services who are not employed at the facility at which the death occurred. 8. Representatives of the Department of Public Health. 9. Representatives of the agency designated by the Governor pursuant to the Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act. 10. State's Attorneys or State's Attorneys' representatives. 11. Coroners or forensic pathologists. 12. Representatives of local hospitals, trauma centers, or providers of emergency medical services. 13. Other categories of persons, as the Secretary of Human Services may see fit. The independent team of experts may make recommendations to the Secretary of Human Services concerning additional appointments. Each team member must have demonstrated experience and an interest in investigating, treating, or preventing the deaths of individuals with disabilities. The Secretary of Human Services shall appoint additional teams if the Secretary or the existing team determines that more teams are necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act. The members of a team shall be appointed for 2-year staggered terms and shall be eligible for reappointment upon the expiration of their terms. Each independent team shall select a Chairperson from among its members. (c) The independent team of experts shall examine the deaths of all individuals who have died while under the care of a facility or community agency. (d) The purpose of the independent team of experts' examination of such deaths is to do the following: 1. Review the cause and manner of the individual's death. 2. Review all actions taken by the facility, State agencies, or other entities to address the cause or causes of death and the adequacy of medical care and treatment. 3. Evaluate the means, if any, by which the death might have been prevented. 4. Report its observations and conclusions to the Secretary of Human Services and make recommendations that may help to reduce the number of unnecessary deaths. 5. Promote continuing education for professionals involved in investigating and preventing the unnecessary deaths of individuals under the care of a facility or community agency. 6. Make specific recommendations to the Secretary of Human Services concerning the prevention of unnecessary deaths of individuals under the care of facilities and community agencies, including changes in policies and practices that will prevent harm to individuals with disabilities, and the establishment of protocols for investigating the deaths of these individuals. (e) The independent team of experts must examine the cases submitted to it on a quarterly basis. The team shall meet at least once in each calendar quarter if there are cases to be examined. The Department of Human Services shall forward cases within 90 days after completion of a review or an investigation into the death of an individual residing at a facility or community agency. (f) Within 90 days after receiving recommendations made by the independent team of experts under subsection (d) of this Section, the Secretary of Human Services must review those recommendations, as feasible and appropriate, and shall respond to the team in writing to explain the implementation of those recommendations. (g) The Secretary of Human Services shall establish protocols governing the operation of the independent team. Those protocols shall include the creation of sub-teams to review the case records or portions of the case records and report to the full team. The members of a sub-team shall be composed of team members specially qualified to examine those records. In any instance in which the independent team does not operate in accordance with established protocol, the Secretary of Human Services shall take any necessary actions to bring the team into compliance with the protocol. (Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)