Bill Text: IL SB2653 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Creates the Operating Room Patient Safety Act. Provides that each surgical technologist hired or contracted by a health care facility on or after January 1, 2026 shall meet specified educational, certification, or experiential requirements. Provides that nothing in the Act prohibits an individual from performing surgical technology services if the individual is acting within the scope of the individual's license or registration or is a student or intern under the direct supervision of a licensed health care provider. Provides that a health care facility may employ or otherwise contract with an individual to perform surgical technology services and functions who does not meet those requirements if the health care facility makes a diligent and thorough effort and, after such an effort is completed, the facility is unable to employ or contract with a sufficient number of qualified surgical technologists who satisfy the requirements of the Act. Provides that the health care facility shall maintain documentation of its efforts.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-26 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Jil Tracy [SB2653 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2653-Introduced.html

---

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2653 Introduced 1/10/2024, by Sen. Doris Turner SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Operating Room Patient Safety Act. Provides that each surgical technologist hired or contracted by a health care facility on or after January 1, 2026 shall meet specified educational, certification, or experiential requirements. Provides that nothing in the Act prohibits an individual from performing surgical technology services if the individual is acting within the scope of the individual's license or registration or is a student or intern under the direct supervision of a licensed health care provider. Provides that a health care facility may employ or otherwise contract with an individual to perform surgical technology services and functions who does not meet those requirements if the health care facility makes a diligent and thorough effort and, after such an effort is completed, the facility is unable to employ or contract with a sufficient number of qualified surgical technologists who satisfy the requirements of the Act. Provides that the health care facility shall maintain documentation of its efforts.
LRB103 34583 RPS 64421 b
A BILL FOR
SB2653 LRB103 34583 RPS 64421 b
AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Operating Room Patient Safety Act.
Section 3. Purpose. It is the public policy of the State
that the State has a legitimate interest in ensuring that all
surgical procedures are performed to ensure maximum patient
safety. Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to:
(1) ensure that an operating room has been prepared by
qualified, trained professionals;
(2) ensure that surgical equipment and instruments are
properly sterilized and functioning safely;
(3) ensure that during surgical procedures, the
surgical team can rely on qualified, trained professionals
to ensure a sterile environment is maintained; and
(4) provide the surgical team with proper instruments
and supplies as requested.
Section 5. Definitions.
"Health care facility" means a facility regulated under
the Hospital Licensing Act, the Ambulatory Surgical Treatment
Center Act, or the University of Illinois Hospital Act.

SB2653 - 2 - LRB103 34583 RPS 64421 b
"Health care facility" does not include a health care facility
that is a critical access hospital as designated by the
Department of Public Health in accordance with 42 CFR 485,
Subpart F, a rural emergency hospital as defined under
subsection (kkk)(2) of Section 1861 of the federal Social
Security Act, or a hospital that qualifies as a Safety-Net
Hospital under Section 5-5e.1 of the Illinois Public Aid Code.
"Surgical technologist" means an individual who is
employed by or contracts with a health care facility to
perform surgical technology services and functions.
"Surgical technology services" means surgical patient care
including, but not limited to, one or more of the following:
(1) preparation of an operating room and the sterile
operating field for surgical procedures by ensuring that
surgical equipment is functioning properly and safely and
using sterile techniques to prepare surgical supplies
instruments and equipment;
(2) intraoperative anticipation and response to the
needs of surgeons, nurses, and other surgical team members
by monitoring the sterile operating field in an operating
room and providing the required instruments or supplies;
(3) performance of tasks at the sterile operating
field, as directed in an operating room setting,
including:
(A) passing surgical supplies, instruments, and
equipment directly to a health care provider;

SB2653 - 3 - LRB103 34583 RPS 64421 b
(B) sponging or suctioning an operative site;
(C) preparing and cutting suture material;
(D) transferring and irrigating with fluids;
(E) transferring, but not administering, drugs
within the sterile field; or
(F) handling surgical specimens.
Section 10. Requirements for surgical technologists. Each
surgical technologist hired or contracted by a health care
facility on or after January 1, 2026 shall meet one or more of
the following requirements:
(1) The surgical technologist has successfully
completed an educational program nationally accredited by
the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education
Programs or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education
Schools for surgical technologists and holds and maintains
a certified surgical technologist credential administered
by a nationally recognized surgical technologist
certifying body accredited by the National Commission for
Certifying Agencies and recognized by the American College
of Surgeons and the Association of Surgical Technologists.
(2) If the surgical technologist has successfully
completed the educational requirements under paragraph (1)
but has not, on the date the surgical technologist is
hired or enters into the contract with the health care
facility, obtained the national certification under

SB2653 - 4 - LRB103 34583 RPS 64421 b
paragraph (1), the surgical technologist must obtain that
certification within 12 months after being hired or
entering into the contract.
(3) The surgical technologist is registered as a
registered surgical technologist under the Registered
Surgical Assistant and Registered Surgical Technologist
Title Protection Act.
(4) The surgical technologist has successfully
completed a training program for surgical technology in
the armed forces of the United States or the United States
Public Health Service.
(5) The surgical technologist has engaged in the
practice of surgical technology at a hospital licensed
under the Hospital Licensing Act or an ambulatory surgical
treatment center licensed under the Ambulatory Surgical
Treatment Center Act before January 1, 2026.
Section 15. Exemptions.
(a) Nothing in this Act prohibits an individual from
performing surgical technology services if the individual is
acting within the scope of the individual's license or
registration or is a student or intern under the direct
supervision of a licensed health care provider.
(b) A health care facility may employ or otherwise
contract with an individual to perform surgical technology
services and functions who does not meet the requirements

SB2653 - 5 - LRB103 34583 RPS 64421 b