On March 9 Governor Pritzker announced the Disaster Proclamation and he directed the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to initiate the state’s Emergency Operations Plan The Department of Public Health was instructed to develop “strategies and plans to protect the public health in connection with the present public health emergency.” The Respiratory Care Practice Act allows out of state, licensed respiratory care practitioners to work in Illinois without an Illinois license in the case of a declared emergency. The specific language in the Act is as follows:
225ILCS Section 15. Exemptions.
(l) Nothing in this Act prohibits a person licensed as a respiratory care practitioner in another jurisdiction from providing respiratory care: (i) in a declared emergency in this State; (ii) as a member of an organ procurement team; or (iii) as part of a medical transport team that is transporting a patient into or out of this State.
(Source: P.A. 99-230, eff. 8-3-15; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18.)
The Illinois Society for Respiratory Care believes that their foresight in adding this language to the Act five years ago will aid in addressing staffing shortages during this current emergency.
Share this Post