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| Public Act 101-0107
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| HB3247 Enrolled | LRB101 10583 CPF 55689 b |
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AN ACT concerning health.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the |
Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and Education Act.
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Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the |
following: |
(1) Parkinson's disease is a debilitating, painful, |
and incurable neurological disorder of unknown origin that |
disrupts and can end the lives of those who suffer from it. |
(2) Parkinson's disease causes diverse symptoms, |
including rigidity, slowness of movement, poor balance, |
and tremors, which lead to an impaired ability to walk, |
speak, swallow, and even breathe, so that the end result |
can be a clear mind trapped inside a body that has lost its |
ability to function. |
(3) The visible symptoms of Parkinson's disease are |
often mistaken to be a normal part of the aging process. |
(4) In addition, many people with the disease encounter |
precarious legal and personal situations in which they are |
erroneously thought to be under the influence of illegal or |
prescription drugs or alcohol due to their movement and |
gait patterns. |
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(5) Parkinson's disease takes an enormous emotional, |
psychological, and physical toll on caregivers and |
families, potentially overwhelming their lives. |
(6) It has been estimated that 1,500,000 Americans have |
been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, 50,000 more are |
diagnosed nationally each year, and another 1,500,000 |
persons have the disease but have never seen a neurologist. |
(7) Parkinson's disease costs Americans |
$25,000,000,000 per year, including medical treatments, |
disability payments, and lost productivity. |
(8) Medications can only control some of the symptoms |
of the disease and only for uncertain periods of time. |
(9) The federal Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease |
Research Act of 1997 provides federal funding through the |
National Institutes of Health for Parkinson's disease, and |
April 11 has been proclaimed to be World Parkinson's Day in |
order to recognize the need for more research and help in |
dealing with the devastating effects of this disease. |
(10) Increased public awareness and education are |
needed among health care, social services, judicial, law |
enforcement, and emergency medical services personnel in |
order to better respond to the needs of Parkinson's disease |
patients and their caregivers and families. |
(11) It is imperative for Illinois to commit itself to |
actively support such public awareness and education |
efforts throughout the State in order to better meet the |
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needs of its citizens who are suffering from Parkinson's |
disease.
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Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: |
"Department" means the Department of Public Health. |
"Director" means the Director of Public Health. |
"Program" means the Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness |
and Education Program established under this Act.
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Section 15. Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and |
Education Program. |
(a) Subject to appropriation, the Director shall establish |
a Parkinson's Disease Public Awareness and Education Program. |
(b) The purpose of the Program is to promote public |
awareness of Parkinson's disease and the value of early |
detection and possible treatments, including the benefits and |
risks of those treatments. The Department may accept for that |
purpose any special grant of moneys, services, or property from |
the federal government or any of its agencies, or from any |
foundation, organization, or medical school. |
(c) The Program shall include the following: |
(1) Development of a public education and outreach |
campaign to promote Parkinson's disease awareness and |
education, including, but not limited to, the following |
subjects: |
(A) the cause and nature of the disease; |
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(B) diagnostic procedures and appropriate |
indications for their use; |
(C) lifestyle issues relating to how a person copes |
with Parkinson's disease, including, but not limited |
to, nutrition, diet, and physical exercise; |
(D) environmental safety and injury prevention; |
and |
(E) availability of Parkinson's disease diagnostic |
and treatment services in the community. |
(2) Development of educational materials to be made |
available to consumers through local physicians, |
hospitals, clinics, and boards of health. |
(3) Development of professional education programs for |
health care providers to assist them in understanding |
research findings and the subjects set forth in paragraph |
(1) of this subsection. |
(4) Development of educational programs for other |
personnel, including judicial staff, police officers, fire |
fighters, and social services and emergency medical |
service providers, to assist them in recognizing the |
symptoms of Parkinson's disease and understanding how to |
respond to the needs of persons with the disease in the |
course of performing their duties, including dissemination |
of the informational booklet prepared under Section 20 of |
this Act. |
(5) Development and maintenance of a list of current |
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providers of specialized services for the diagnosis and |
treatment of Parkinson's disease. Dissemination of the |
list shall be accompanied by a description of diagnostic |
procedures, appropriate indications for their use, and a |
cautionary statement about the current status of |
Parkinson's disease research and treatment. The statement |
shall also indicate that the Department does not endorse |
specific Parkinson's disease programs or centers in this |
State.
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Section 20. Informational booklet. |
(a) The Department, in consultation with the Midwest |
Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association, any |
public or private university medical school that the Director |
deems useful, including, but not limited to, Loyola Medical |
School, and the Department on Aging, shall prepare an |
informational booklet in English, Spanish, and Mandarin that |
provides, in a manner easily understandable by a patient or |
other non-health care professional, information about the |
symptoms and treatment of Parkinson's disease. The booklet may |
contain any other information that the Department deems |
necessary and may be revised by the Department whenever new |
information about Parkinson's disease becomes available. |
(b) The Department shall make a supply of the booklets |
available to all licensed health care facilities engaged in the |
diagnosis or treatment of Parkinson's disease and to those |
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personnel described in paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of |
Section 15 of this Act, as well as to health care |
professionals, community health centers, and members of the |
public upon their request. The Department shall publicize and |
make available the booklet to the maximum extent possible, and |
shall make available electronically on its website in English |
and Spanish the information contained in the booklet.
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Section 25. Rules. The Director shall adopt rules to |
effectuate the purposes of this Act.
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