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The new law, which covers physicians, surgeons, nurses and
social workers, comes at a time when hospitals across the state
are facing staffing and recruiting hardships.
"If we were to say we can only use those that are in the state
of Illinois, that would unintentionally drive up the cost of
labor, because it would be harder for us to fill positions and
the harder it is to fill a contract need," Kimberly Blakey, vice
president of Clinical Business Strategic Operations at OSF
Healthcare in Peoria, told NewsChannel20.com.
Of the 250 nurses now on staff at OSF, officials said many of
them come from out of state.
"It’s one of the longest states in order to get Illinois
licensure in general, whether you're an agency nurse or whether
you're one being employed at a local hospital, and so all of
these measures really help us be able to meet the needs of our
patients," Blakey added.
Prior to Pritzker moving to take action, temporary out-of-state
licenses were set to expire on May 11, the same day that
COVID-19 emergency-related declarations come to an end.
"This will prevent gaps in care and ensure Illinoisans continue
to have access to necessary medical support, an essential step
in our transition out of the public health emergency,” he said
in a statement.
Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton said she supports the measure at a
critical time in the state's push to fully rebound from the
pandemic.
"We really do need people,” she added. “We need people that
actually stay here and work here and alleviate some of the
problems that we're having with shortages like this."
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