Rep. Mary Flowers

Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that if a DCFS employee involved in making an investigation of a report of suspected child abuse or neglect intentionally makes a false finding or intentionally misrepresents a fact in connection with the investigation, and that false finding or misrepresentation is material in determining whether the report is "indicated" or "unfounded", the person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, the Illinois Insurance Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, and the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act to require coverage for a federally approved AIDS vaccine, prescription nutritional supplements, physician prescribed or ordered pain medication, and intravenous feeding. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State.

Creates the Nursing and Hospital Worker Protection Act. Provides that a nurse may not be disciplined, discriminated against, dismissed, discharged or retaliated against, or made subject to any other adverse employment decision for refusing to work more than 12 consecutive hours a day or 40 hours per week. Provides that an employer that is a health system and commits more than 500 violations of wage and hour regulations and laws for registered nurses within a 3-year period shall be fined up to 5% of gross hospital patient revenues. Provides that monies from the fines shall be used to fund care for the indigent and shall be allocated to the Department of Public Health for nursing scholarships awarded pursuant to the Nursing Education Scholarship Law in addition to any other funds set aside and appropriated for that purpose. Provides that a hospital employee must receive a 30-minute meal period and 2 15-minute rest periods for every 5 hours of work. Effective immediately.

Amends the Medical Practice Act of 1987 to provide for the public release of individual profiles on persons licensed under the Act, including information relating to criminal charges, administrative disciplinary actions, hospital privilege revocations, and medical malpractice awards. Provides that a physician may elect to include certain information in his or her profile. Provides that certain information collected for physician profiles is not confidential. Provides that, when collecting information or compiling reports intended to compare physicians, the Disciplinary Board shall require that only the most basic identifying information from mandatory reports may be used, and details about a patient or personal details about a physician that are not already a matter of public record through another source must not be released. Effective immediately.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Makes technical changes to the short title Section.

Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that in a hospital with 100 or more patient beds, at least one physician, in addition to any emergency room physicians, must be on duty at all times to serve non-emergency room patients exclusively.

Creates the Arthritis Prevention and Control Act. Directs the Department of Public Health to establish, promote, and maintain an Arthritis Prevention and Control Program to raise public awareness, educate consumers, and educate and train health professionals, teachers, and human services providers, and for other purposes.

Creates the Medical Error Reporting Law. Requires a health care facility to develop and implement a patient safety plan for the purpose of improving the health and safety of patients at the facility. Requires a health care facility to report to the Department of Public Health every serious preventable adverse incident that occurs in that facility. Provides that a health care facility shall ensure that the patient affected by a serious preventable adverse incident is informed of the serious preventable adverse incident.

Amends the School Code. Provides that if a student must be transferred from one attendance center to another within a school district because the attendance center the student is currently attending exceeds its attendance capacity, then the attendance center the student is to be transferred to must not be an attendance center that is on the academic watch list. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective July 1, 2004.

Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and the Adoption Act. Provides that the parent may demand a trial by jury in any proceeding on a petition (1) seeking a finding that a minor is neglected, abused or dependent or (2) seeking a finding that a parent is unfit and that it is in the best interest of the child to terminate parental rights.