The Minnesota AST Assembly is working to enact legislation that would provide for surgical technologists in Minnesota to be credentialed. The bills, H.F. 1094 and S.F. 467, are now pending in the Minnesota Legislature and their passage is AST’s highest legislative priority in Minnesota.
Enactment of our bill is important for multiple reasons:
1) It defines the role, tasks and functions of surgical technologists in the OR;
2) It protects patients by requiring hospitals and surgical centers to hire surgical technologists who have successfully completed an accredited program and hold the CST credential and maintain it by completing continuing education requirements;
3) It protects the jobs of surgical technologists working in Minnesota now; and
4) It elevates our profession.
Today, Minnesota has no requirements for surgical technologists to be educated, credentialed or competent before they are hired by a hospital or surgical center. Surgical technologists are the ONLY health care professionals in the OR that are not regulated in any respect. This lack of recognition by the State demeans our profession as well as the professional surgical technologists that work in Minnesota. And, it potentially compromises safe surgical patient care.
Our bill was introduced in the Minnesota Senate as S.F. 467 by Senator Sharon Erickson Ropes (DFL-Winona) and in the House as H.F. 1094 by Representative Jim Abeler (R-Anoka). To read our bill, go to http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/bills/billinf.php?ls=86. From this link, on the Minnesota Senate’s website, you can also access H.F. 1094, the House version.
The 2010 legislative session begins February 4, 2010. Before then, we want every member of the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee and the House Licensure Division to hear from the surgical technologists living in their legislative districts that they need to support our bill. They listen to their constituents!
If legislators do not hear of support for our bill from their districts, it will be difficult to move our bill forward next session. The 2010 legislative session will be short and the number of hearings in the key health committees will be limited. Only bills that have garnered support are expected to be scheduled for action.
To find out if you live in one of these districts and what specific steps you can take to help build support for our bill, read on.
Key Legislators Make Decisions on Surgical Technologist Licensure
The Minnesota Legislature has 201 members, but only 21 members – 13 in the Senate and 8 in the House – will decide the fate of AST’s credentialing legislation.
To find out if your state representative is a member of the House Licensing Division, go to http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/ and click on "Committee Information" in the left column. Scroll down to "Licensing Division" to find a listing of the Division members. Not sure who your legislators are? Click on "Who Represents You?" in the left column to find your state senator and state representative.
To find out if your state senator is a member of the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee, click on the blue "Senate" link at the top of the Minnesota Legislature page, then click on "Committee Information" in the left column. Scroll down to the Health, Housing and Family Security Committee to find a listing of the Committee members.
Talk With Your Legislator!
If your state senator or state representative is one of the key 21 Minnesota legislators with a vote on our credentialling bill, you need to meet them. Legislators are looking ahead to the November 2010 elections and are seeking meetings with constituents. A call from a constituent knowledgeable about health care is something they will welcome.
Tom Lehman, AST’s Minnesota lobbyist, can help facilitate these meetings and attend with you. He is experienced in working with provider associations and can help you make your meeting the most productive it can be. Contact him at tom@thelehmangroup.com.
The Legislative Committee, formerly the Government and Public Affairs Committee
Kristi Houselog and Sara Vodnick will be co-chairing this committee. They will be updating you as often as possible with progress via e-mail, website, and newsletters. Please feel free to contact Sara Vodnick or Kristi Houselog with questions or to get involved.
