SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The Illinois House passed a bill this week to create an end-of-life care peer support program within the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Sponsors and advocates said peer-to-peer hospice programs can provide an opportunity for penance for past offenses through service to others and help develop healthy coping mechanisms for feelings of loss and grief.
A limited number of prisons have already started peer-to-peer programs, but the services are not available for incarcerated women.
"This peer support program is about dignity," said Rep. Nicolle Grasse (D-Arlington Heights). "It's about recognizing our shared humanity at the end of life and wherever we live. It also supports burdened staff and can reduce unnecessary and costly hospital transports, saving taxpayer dollars."
House Bill 4434 passed out of the House on a 72-33 vote Thursday. It now moves to the Senate for further consideration.Â
"Right now, a terminally ill person in IDOC isn't receiving any form of true end-of-life care," said Yosef Moore, diversion and reentry policy analyst for Access Living. "No one is attending to their mental, emotional, or spiritual needs. Instead, a human being is left to die alone."Â
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