IL HB2397

Requires the Illinois Department of Corrections to publish an annual report by December 1 on hospice and palliative care provided to incarcerated individuals with terminal conditions (life expectancy of 6 months or less)

Mandates reporting of demographic data on inmates receiving end-of-life care, including race/ethnicity, gender, age, terminal illness cause, and length of incarceration before receiving care

Requires data on program enrollment numbers, admissions, discharges, deaths, denials, and average time between terminal diagnosis and hospice admission

Requires disclosure of hospice policies, eligible facilities, services offered (pain management, counseling, peer support, chaplain services), staffing levels, staff-to-patient ratios, and advance directive procedures at each institution

Named the "Eddie Thomas Act" after an inmate who died alone in a prison infirmary without end-of-life care 5 months after being diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer; addresses finding that over 1,000 Illinois prisoners are aged 65 or older and the Department lacks a formal hospice program