Human Services Committee
Filed: 2/17/2005
 
 

 




 

 		












09400HB0480ham001

LRB094 06314 LJB 41500 a






1

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 480 




2
    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 480  by replacing the 
3
title with the following:

4
    "AN ACT concerning public health, which may be referred to 
5
as Adamin and Ryan's Law."; and
 
6
by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the 
7
following:

 
8
    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
9
Newborn Eye Pathology Screening Act.
 
10
    Section 5. Policy and legislative findings. 
11
    (a) It is the policy of the State of Illinois to make every 
12
effort to detect pediatric congenital ocular abnormalities 
13
that lead to premature death, blindness, or vision impairment 
14
unless treated soon after birth.

15
    (b) The General Assembly finds and declares the following:

16
        (1) Treatable congenital ocular diseases occur 
17
    frequently and require increased early detection efforts.

18
        (2) Early detection significantly enhances the ability 
19
    to prevent serious damage from congenital abnormalities of 
20
    the eye which, left undetected and untreated, may result in 
21
    blinding or life-threatening diseases, or both.  Examples 
22
    of such disorders include retinoblastoma, congenital 
23
    cataracts, and persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous.  
 


 






09400HB0480ham001
- 2 -
LRB094 06314 LJB 41500 a




1
    Other congenital anomalies, including colobomas, vascular 
2
    retinal anomalies, and congenital retinal folds, can be 
3
    treated by patching the good eye to prevent dense amblyopia 
4
    if detected early.
5
        
(3) Retinoblastoma is a childhood cancer arising in 
6
    immature retinal cells inside the eye and accounts for 
7
    approximately 13% of all cancers in infants.  Most children 
8
    are diagnosed before 2 1/2 years of age.  When 
9
    retinoblastoma affects both eyes, the average age of 
10
    diagnosis is 12 months.

11
        (4) Increased emphasis on optimal examination methods, 
12
    such as dilation of the eye with eye drops, may facilitate 
13
    detection of the abnormal disease process inside the eye of 
14
    the newborn.  An abnormal screen will facilitate timely 
15
    referral to an appropriately licensed health care provider 
16
    acting within his or her scope of practice for diagnosis 
17
    and to an ophthalmologist for treatment.

18
        (5) Early detection and referral of an abnormal red 
19
    reflex pupillary screen would allow early diagnosis of 
20
    congenital cataract or retinoblastoma which, if recognized 
21
    and treated as soon as possible after birth, could cause 
22
    little long-term disability.

23
        (6) Early diagnosis and intervention can reduce the 
24
    number of visually impaired citizens and reduce the amount 
25
    of public expenditures for health care, special education, 
26
    and related services.

 
27
    Section 10. Newborn Eye Pathology Screening Advisory 
28
Committee. 
29
    (a) By January 1, 2006, the Department of Human Services 
30
shall organize a Newborn Eye Pathology Screening Advisory 
31
Committee and appoint members of the Advisory Committee, 
32
including, but not limited to, the following:

33
        (1) Two ophthalmologists with backgrounds in or 
 


 






09400HB0480ham001
- 3 -
LRB094 06314 LJB 41500 a




1
    knowledge of providing services to infants with 
2
    retinoblastoma, one from the Chicago metropolitan area and 
3
    one from the southern counties of Illinois.
4
        (2) A pediatric ophthalmologist who sees general 
5
    pediatric patients and is a  designee of the American 
6
    Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.

7
        (3) An academic pediatrician with a background in or 
8
    knowledge of infant eye pathology screening.

9
        (4) Two parents representing families with child 
10
    blindness or other ocular abnormalities affecting vision, 
11
    one from the Chicago metropolitan area and one from the 
12
    southern counties of Illinois.

13
        (5) A community pediatrician with a background in or 
14
    experience with the routine instillation of dilating eye 
15
    drops as part of the red reflex screening.

16
        (6) A nurse with a background in or knowledge of the 
17
    current Department's program for instillation of eye drops 
18
    to prevent conjunctivitis.

19
        (7) A retinal specialist with research experience in 
20
    detecting the signs of treatable congenital eye disease.

21
        (8) An optometrist with a background in or experience 
22
    with pupil dilation in infants and red reflex screening for 
23
    intraocular pathology.

24
    (b) The Advisory Committee members shall serve without 
25
compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary travel 
26
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

27
    (c) The duties of the Advisory Committee shall be to do all 
28
of the following:
29
        (1) Develop and conduct training for hospitals 
30
    implementing newborn hearing screening.
31
        (2) Develop a referral system for early intervention 
32
    services for those infants diagnosed with a congenital 
33
    abnormality of the eye.
34
        (3) Develop educational and informational materials 
 


 






09400HB0480ham001
- 4 -
LRB094 06314 LJB 41500 a




1
    for hospital personnel, health care professionals, and 
2
    parents on appropriate follow-up procedures for infants 
3
    diagnosed with a congenital abnormality of the eye.
4
        (4) Monitor any reports made available to the State 
5
    with respect to the eye pathology screening status of all 
6
    newborns.
7
        (5) Review administrative rules and make 
8
    recommendations to the Department regarding the rules. 
 
9
    Section 20. Protocol; required screening. 
10
    (a) By January 1, 2006, the Department shall adopt the 
11
protocol developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics to 
12
optimally detect the presence of treatable causes of blindness 
13
in infants by 2 months of age.
14
    (b) After January 1, 2006, all hospitals shall conduct eye 
15
screenings of all newborns prior to discharge.
16
    (c) Any screening examination recommended pursuant to 
17
subsection (a) of this Section or required pursuant to 
18
subsection (b) of this Section shall not be conducted on a 
19
newborn if a parent or guardian of the newborn objects to the 
20
examination on the grounds that the examination conflicts with 
21
the religious beliefs or practices of the parent or guardian.
A 
22
written statement of the objection shall be presented to the 
23
physician or other person whose duty it is to administer and 
24
report the screening under the provisions of this Act.
25
    (d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to supersede 
26
the clinical judgment of the licensed health care provider.

 
27
    Section 25. Department of Public Health. 
28
    (a) Hospitals shall report information about each child 
29
with a positive eye screening result to the Illinois Department 
30
of Public Health.
31
    (b) The Illinois Department of Public Health shall maintain 
32
a registry of cases of positive eye screening results, 
 


 






09400HB0480ham001
- 5 -
LRB094 06314 LJB 41500 a




1
including information needed for the purpose of follow-up 
2
service.
 
3
    Section 30. Rules. The Department of Human Services shall 
4
adopt rules necessary to implement this Act.
 
5
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 
6
2005.".