Att: Illinois licensed nurses with forceable felony conviction license revocation law

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Aug 7, 2012

from senator martin sandoval website:

notable legislative accomplishments public safety
house bill 4934 (will require that idfpr suspend the license of any licensed health care worker convicted of a forcible felony or sexual criminal act against any patient and violent felony against anyone. also, once a person has been convicted, their license will be revoked for a minimum of five years. however, if a worker is found innocent, this law provides that idfpr remove the suspension from the licensee’s record.

my record

cally527, RN · Aug 7, 2012

by dukes217 aug 3 a member since sep '09 - from 'indianapolis, in'. dukes217 has '15' year(s) of nursing experience. posts: 6
age: 40

i just heard from my lawyer today that there is a new law that will take affect soon. this new law states anyone with a forcibly felony on their record will have their license revoked. he also stated that it doesn't matter how long ago this crime was, it will still affect many nurses throughout the state of illinois. i hope this is not true, all the nurses that have turned their life around will end up out of work and on unemployment. this is unfair to let a bill pass with no hearings. this bill is hb 1271. please look it up and let me know what you think about it..now i can understand if you committed a crime against a patient,but to make this law apply to all people with forcible felonies is a shame. no one is exempt even if this happened while in college, fifty years ago, or without a weapon. a simply bar fight will cost you tour livelyhood. what a shame!!!!

ummmm.... a "simple bar fight" does not result in a forcible felony (they usually do not even result in police showing up). in the state of illinois a forcible felony is considered to be the following: treason, 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, robbery, burglary, residential burglary, arson, aggravated arson, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated battery resulting in permanent disability, disfigurement or great bodily harm, and other felonies involving the use or threat of physical force or violence against an individual. all of these are more than a simple bar fight.

as for the new law it is mean to protect patients (who are not always conscious, able to defend themselves,or able to communicate) from healthcare workers that were convicted of violent crimes and/or sex crimes. below is the wording of the actual law.

(a) when a licensed health care worker, as defined in the

health care worker self-referral act, (1) has been convicted of

a criminal act that requires registration under the sex

offender registration act; (2) has been convicted of a criminal

battery against any patient in the course of patient care or

treatment, including any offense based on sexual conduct or

sexual penetration; (3) has been convicted of a forcible

felony; or (4) is required as a part of a criminal sentence to

register under the sex offender registration act, then,

notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the

license of the health care worker shall by operation of law be

permanently revoked without a hearing.

(b) no person who has been convicted of any offense listed

in subsection (a) or required to register as a sex offender may

receive a license as a health care worker in illinois.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Aug 7, 2012

State Licensure is designed to protect PUBLIC CITIZENS by promoting health and safety, not promoting /protecting those desiring healthcare licenses. That is why State Nurses Associaitions are so important: to promote nursing profession, protect public but prevent legislation restricting our practice rights.

Entire Illinois law now Public Act 97-0156 effective 8/20/2011 can be read:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/97/PDF/097-0156.pdf

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dukes217 · Aug 8, 2012

Ummm I know of someone that had a fight at the bar,and she was charged and convicted of that bar fight with a felony battery. That fight was twenty years ago and she has turned her life around. I agree that people with crimes against patients should have their license revokes; However, there should be some kind of human rights law for people like my friend. She has had to pay for that felony three times for that simply mistake she made as a young lady. she was put on probations and paid fines to the state, she was put on probation from the BON, now she's losing her license after twenty years of being crime free. Like I stated b4. What a shame that a simply bar fight will cause her revocation of her license. WHAT A SHAME. After all my friend/co-worker has been through, she will be punished again and again. Her patients, myself and our DON are really sad about all of this. She's been so good to everyone here. No weapon formed against me shall prosper..

Pattycakes85 · Aug 8, 2012

That really stinks

cally527, RN · Aug 9, 2012

ummm i know of someone that had a fight at the bar,and she was charged and convicted of that bar fight with a felony battery. that fight was twenty years ago and she has turned her life around. i agree that people with crimes against patients should have their license revokes; however, there should be some kind of human rights law for people like my friend. she has had to pay for that felony three times for that simply mistake she made as a young lady. she was put on probations and paid fines to the state, she was put on probation from the bon, now she's losing her license after twenty years of being crime free. like i stated b4. what a shame that a simply bar fight will cause her revocation of her license. what a shame. after all my friend/co-worker has been through, she will be punished again and again. her patients, myself and our don are really sad about all of this. she's been so good to everyone here. no weapon formed against me shall prosper..

well dukes217, i am truly sorry that you may lose your license (i read your other posts, and they describe the exact same situation as your "friend" so you are either 2 very unlucky individuals or your friend is actually you)

my post was not meant to upset you or be antagonistic in any way so i apologize if it came across that way. my point was that a "simple bar fight" (your term not mine) does not usually result in felony charges. a simple bar fight is some pushing, yelling maybe a couple of punches being traded before the bar employees and/or patrons break it up. police are not usually called to the scene. your original post had said for readers to look up the bill and let you know what we think of it. i read the law, as well as the illinois definition of a forcible felony and then posted my thoughts. as i stated before, illinois considers a forcible felony to include "aggravated battery resulting in permanent disability, disfigurement or great bodily harm, and other felonies involving the use or threat of physical force or violence against an individual." i maintain that a simple bar fight does not result in permanent disability, disability or great bodily harm. i obviously do not know the specifics of your situation, but i will speculate that you hurt the other person enough for them to maybe need an er visit. that is one way that the cops would have become involved. or maybe the other party filed a formal complaint and exaggerated their injuries. whatever the case may be, you clearly learned your lesson, paid for your mistake, and stayed out of further trouble. you were able to go to nursing school, pass the nclex, and convinced the bon that you had turned over a new leaf and had worked hard to do so resulting in your probationary license. i will call a spade a spade and say this, it is a shame that the despicable actions of a few have resulted in this new law which will effectively end your career (in illinois and other states that may have same laws)

in one of your original post you mentioned your lawyer. i would suggest discussion the situation with your lawyer in depth and seeing if there are any options for you such an appeals system.

i wish you luck as you deal with this.

dukes217 · Aug 11, 2012

Thanks you for the feedback, but I was not offended by your response. I actually agree that it is what it is. I actually do have a friend that is losing her license b/c of this law. She was in a bar fight with her ex-husband mistress and blacked her eye. The cops in this little area are always at the bar patrolling, b/c they have nothing else to do(IMO) and she was arrested on the spot. Now I don't know if she received tx for her eye, but I do know they both were able to overcome the past and raise their two children up as sisters, and not enemies. In my case I was charged with a felony battery for pushing mace out of a cops hand that was macing me for trying to get my kids from my mother's house. My story is a little deeper than my friends. I was in a family feud and cops were called out and w/out getting the full story he massed me in the face, so I pushed the mase out of his hand. When we got to court he accursed me of hitting him. Me being young and not wanting to tell the whole story in front of a court room full of people in a small town where everybody knows everybody. I plead guilty just to get it over with. I had a very compassionate judge. After hearing my mother speak out about what my problem was that night, what she saw on that porch, Judge Jean Scott kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to plead guilty to the matter. I was ashamed and wanted it over with,so I said yes. She went on to tell me how much of a mistake I was making by pleaded guilty to that felony. I just wanted out that court room w/out everybody in town knowing that my uncle had sexually molested me since I was a nine. So you see a aggravated battery does not have to cause great bodily harm, disability. or disfigurement of another person. Law enforcement have the power, not out of control, confused, young people. My friend has a license here in Illinois and I don't. I am however a licensed nurse in another state. I worked at the Regency with my friend and co-worker for many years off and on. SHE'S A HARD WORKER, and I'm more than ****** that they are going to dig up that dirt on her and throw it in her face for the third time. I on the other hand withdrew my application from Illinois and now can go back to Indy and work. She_(my friend/coworker) will have a hard time getting license in another state with a revoked license in another.

NO OFFENSE, BUT I WOULD NEVER LIE ON A SOCIAL NETWORK WHERE NOBODY EVEN KNOWS WHO I AM, WHATS THE PURPOSE IN THAT?

Thanks for stopping by...

dukes217 · Aug 11, 2012

OOh and I forgot to mention that my friends/co-worker's felony was over thirty years- old and mine is eighteen years old. So much for Second chances. I guess well make great advisers, especially if this goes nationwide.