Illinois Administrative Code › Title 77 - PUBLIC HEALTH › Part 591 - VISA WAIVER PROGRAM FOR INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES › Subpart A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 591.20 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
"Act" means the Immigration and Nationality Act
				  (8 U.S.C.
				  1182(e) and
				  8 U.S.C. 1184(l)).
"Applicant" means a physician or an individual acting on
				  behalf of the physician who applies to the Department for a J-1 Visa
				  Waiver.
"Authorized representative" means a person who has authority
				  to act on behalf of the applicant, including, but not limited to, applicant's
				  attorney at law. Authorized representatives are: for a corporation, any of its
				  officers or members of its board of directors; for a limited liability company,
				  any of its managers or members; for a partnership, any of its general partners;
				  and for a sole proprietor, the individual who is the sole proprietor.
"Board certified physician" means a physician who has passed
				  a medical specialty examination and who has maintained certification of that
				  specialty from a nationally recognized medical specialty board certification
				  body.
"Board eligible physician" means a physician who has
				  completed the requirements for admission to a medical specialty board
				  examination but has not yet taken and passed the examination or a physician who
				  had board certification but did not maintain that certification and must take a
				  medical specialty board examination again.
"Breach of service obligation" means failure for any reason
				  to begin or complete all of a contractual service commitment.
"Calendar day" means all days in a month or prescribed time
				  frame, including weekends and federal or State government declared
				  holidays.
"Center" means the Center for Rural Health of the Illinois
				  Department of Public Health.
"Certified local health department" means a county,
				  multi-county, municipal or district public health agency recognized by the
				  Department pursuant to the Certified Local Health Department Code.
"Change of ownership" means a change in the person who has
				  operational control of a medical facility.
"Community-based organization" means a locally organized and
				  locally recognized group of individuals whose goals include efforts to maintain
				  or increase the availability of primary health care in its community.
"Community Health Center" or "CHC" means migrant health
				  centers or community health centers or health care for the homeless programs or
				  health care for residents of public housing supported under section 330 of the
				  federal Public Health Service Act and Federally Qualified Health Centers,
				  including Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alikes, as designated by the
				  Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that operate at
				  least one federally designated primary health care delivery site in
				  Illinois.
"Country of nationality or country of last legal residence"
				  means the country from which the physician was a national at the time J-1
				  status was acquired or the last foreign country in which the physician had a
				  legal permanent residence before acquiring J-1 status.
"Curriculum vitae" means a written description of
				  professional accomplishments, work experience, educational background and
				  skills.
"Department" means the Illinois Department of Public
				  Health.
"DHHS" means the U.S. Department of Health and Human
				  Services.
"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Department of
				  Public Health.
"Emergency medicine physician" means a physician licensed to
				  practice medicine in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 with a
				  specialty dedicated to the care and treatment of acutely ill or injured
				  patients who need immediate medical attention. For purposes of this Part, an
				  emergency medicine physician is considered a specialist.
"Federal fiscal year" means the 12-month period beginning
				  October 1 and ending September 30 of the following year. The federal fiscal
				  year may be divided into four calendar quarters: October 1 through December 31;
				  January 1 through March 31; April 1 through June 30; and July 1 through
				  September 30.
"Federally Qualified Health Center" or "FQHC" means a health
				  center funded under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act.
"Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike" or "FQHC
				  Look-Alike" means an organization that meets the requirements for receiving a
				  grant under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, but does not receive
				  federal grants under that authority.
"Fellowship training" means a physician who pursues
				  additional, optional training in a subspecialty of medicine.
"Forensic pathologist" means a physician licensed to practice
				  medicine in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 with a specialty in
				  pathology. These physicians investigate deaths that occur under unusual
				  circumstances, perform post-mortem examinations, and initiate inquests.
"Full time practice" means maintaining 40 hours of ambulatory
				  access per week as required under the Act and the Code of Federal Regulations
				  (see 22 CFR
				  41.63(i)).
"H1B visa" means a visa for a foreign national to work in the
				  U.S. for a temporary period, issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland
				  Security. It is available for employment in a specialty occupation, including,
				  but not limited to, biotechnology, chemistry, architecture, engineering,
				  mathematics, education, law, medicine and research.
"Health Professional Shortage Area" or "HPSA" means a
				  designation provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
				  Health Resources and Services Administration. The HPSA designation indicates
				  the shortage of primary medical care or dental or mental health providers. The
				  HPSA designation may be geographic (a county or service area), population group
				  (e.g., low-income, Medicaid eligible) or facility (comprehensive health center,
				  FQHC, or other public facility or non-profit facility). HPSA designations can
				  be found at
http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov
.
"Health professional shortage area score" or "HPSA score"
				  means a score calculated by DHHS that is assigned to areas or facilities having
				  a health professional shortage designation to determine priorities for
				  assignment of clinicians.
"Hospital" means a location defined in and licensed under the
				  Hospital Licensing Act.
"Hospital medicine" means a physician whose medical specialty
				  focuses on the care of acutely ill hospitalized patients.
"Hospitalist" means a physician licensed to practice medicine
				  in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 whose primary focus is the
				  medical care of hospitalized patients. The hospitalist's activities include
				  patient care, teaching, research, and leadership related to hospital medicine.
				  For purposes of this Part, a hospitalist is considered a primary care
				  physician.
"Intermediate care facilities for the developmentally
				  disabled and long-term care for under age 22 facilities" means a location
				  defined in and licensed under the ID/DD Community Care Act.
"J-1 visa" means a non-immigrant visa issued by the United
				  States to exchange visitors participating in programs that promote cultural
				  exchange, business training or medical education.
"J-1 visa waiver" or "waiver" means a federal action that
				  waives the requirement for a foreign physician, in the U.S. on a J-1 visa, to
				  return to the physician's country of nationality or country of last legal
				  residence for a two-year period following medical residency training.
"J-1 visa waiver flex option" means a waiver granted by the
				  Department recommending that a physician work at a medical facility that is not
				  specifically designated as underserved by DHHS.
"J-1 visa waiver program" or "Waiver program" means the
				  administration of the waiver process by the Department.
"Labor certification" means the process of proving that there
				  are no qualified U.S. workers for the position being offered by an
				  employer.
"Long-term care facility" means a location defined in and
				  licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act.
"Liquidated damages" means damages in an amount designated by
				  the parties during the formation of a contract for the injured party to collect
				  as compensation upon a specific breach.
"Medical facility" means a facility where a physician
				  fulfills the physician's service obligation, including but not limited to the
				  following:
A community health center;
A local health department;
An outpatient medical facility;
A community mental health center;
A hospital;
A State-operated facility providing care to persons with
				  mental illness;
An ID/DD Community Care facility;
A long-term care facility;
A rehabilitation facility (either a distinct bed unit in a
				  general acute care hospital or a specialty hospital);
A Migrant Health Center or an Indian Health Service
				  facility;
An FQHC or FQHC Look-Alike;
A facility for delivery of health services to inmates in a
				  U.S. penal or correctional institution (under section 323 of the Public Health
				  Service Act) or a State correctional institution;
A Public Health Service medical facility (used in connection
				  with the delivery of health service under section 320, 321, 322, 324, 325 or
				  326 of the Public Health Service Act) or any other federal medical
				  facility;
A specialized mental health rehabilitation facility;
a physician's office; or
a medical examiner's office.
"Medically underserved area" or "MUA" means a location
				  designated by DHHS based on the availability of primary care physicians,
				  demographic characteristics, and health status of the residents of a service
				  area. The designation is used to identify areas in need of additional health
				  care services. MUAs can be found at
https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/mua-find
.
"Medically underserved population" or "MUP" means a
				  population group designated by DHHS as being in need of additional health care
				  services. MUPs can be found at
https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/mua-find
"Mental Health HPSA" means the shortage of psychiatrists and
				  core mental health professionals in a defined area.
"Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "MSA" means one or more
				  adjacent counties that have at least one urban core area of at least 50,000 in
				  population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and
				  economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.
"National interest waiver" or "NIW" means an exemption from
				  the labor certification process for foreign physicians who stay in the U.S. and
				  work in an underserved area and whose stay is determined to be in the public
				  interest by the Department. The waiver is issued by the U.S. Department of
				  Homeland Security under section 5 of the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas
				  Act of 1999.
"Non-compete" means an agreement between the physician and
				  the employer under which the physician agrees not to enter into competition
				  with the employer after employment ends.
"Null and void" means that a J-1 visa waiver application
				  submitted to the Department has no legal force and is invalid.
"Obstetrician" means a physician licensed to practice
				  medicine in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 with a specialty
				  dedicated to pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
"Operational control" means a person or entity possesses the
				  ability to direct the management and policies of the medical facility, whether
				  through the voting of securities, corporate membership, contract, or
				  otherwise.
"Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in
				  all of its branches in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987.
"Primary care" means health care that encompasses prevention
				  services, basic diagnostic and treatment services, and support services such as
				  laboratory, radiology, transportation and pharmacy. Primary care is
				  comprehensive in nature and includes responsibility for coordination of other
				  health and social services as they relate to patients' needs.
"Primary Care HPSA" means the primary care physician shortage
				  in a defined area.
"Primary care physician" means a person licensed to practice
				  medicine in all of its branches in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of
				  1987 with a specialty in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics,
				  obstetrics/gynecology, or hospital medicine.
"Psychiatric physician" or "psychiatrist" means a person
				  licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches under the Medical Practice
				  Act of 1987 with a specialty in psychiatry.
"Residency training" means graduate medical education that
				  follows medical school and that trains the physician in the physician's chosen
				  specialty (e.g., family medicine, pediatrics).
"Rural" means any geographic area not located in a
				  Metropolitan Statistical Area; or a county located within an MSA but having a
				  population of 60,000 or less; or a geographic area located within an MSA but
				  having a population of 2,500 or less.
"Service area" is the geographic area composed of the
				  HPSA.
"Service obligation" means a physician who receives a J-1
				  Visa waiver must work full-time for three years in a medical facility in an
				  HPSA in Illinois. For a waiver received through the flex option, the physician
				  must work full-time in a medical facility in Illinois that is not located in a
				  HPSA.
"Specialized mental health rehabilitation facility" means a
				  location defined in and licensed under the Specialized Mental Health
				  Rehabilitation Act of 2013.
"Specialist physician" or "Specialist" means a person
				  licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches in Illinois under the
				  Medical Practice Act of 1987 with a specialty in an area other than primary
				  care or psychiatry.
"Submission of application" or "Submission" means that a J-1
				  visa waiver application has been submitted to the Department. For purposes of
				  this Part, submission means that the Department has received the application by
				  the established submission deadline (see Section
				  591.110(a) and
				  (b)). Submission does not mean that the
				  application is postmarked by the established submission deadline but arrives at
				  the Department on a later date.
"Termination for cause" means termination of employment
				  caused by the physician's personal dishonesty, willful misconduct, breach of
				  fiduciary duty, intentional failure to perform stated duties, or the willful
				  violation of any law, rule or regulation, any of which results in material loss
				  to the employer.
"Termination without cause" means termination of the
				  physician's employment for the convenience of the employer.
"Toll" or "Tolling" means to pause, postpone or suspend the
				  running of a defined time period.
"Unauthorized employment" means hiring a physician for
				  employment that is beyond the terms and conditions of the physician's
				  employment contract with the employer.
"Urban" means any geographic area that does not meet the
				  definition of "rural" in this Section.