Nurses association: Illinois licensing delays put patients 'at risk'
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[September 30, 2023]
By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – The Illinois House Healthcare Licenses Committee
met with officials from the health care industry to go over potential
solutions to speed up the licensing process.
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation licenses
have been going out to their recipients slower than usual, causing some
to be unable to work. Some licenses can take up to four to six weeks to
be distributed to nurses, doctors or other practitioners.
Susan Swort of the American Nurses Association said something needs to
be done soon because of a nursing shortage.
"We are in the midst of a nursing shortage. A delay in processing
licenses doesn't just inconvenience the nurse or the employer, it puts
patients and their health care at risk," Swort said.
Timothy Kinsey, president of the Illinois Academy of Physician
Assistants, said the process has improved but still fails to renew
licenses swiftly.
"While the licensing situation at IDFPR has improved from previous
administrations, and IDFPR staff has been very responsive to questions,
several recent cases have shown the department can not process PA
licenses promptly," Kinsey said.
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State Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, said workers have been leaving the
state to find work in other places due to waiting for licenses.
"We need to focus on making this a priority," Hauter said. "This is
costing patients their care, their suffering and it is costing Illinois
its highly trained professionals."
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Illinois state Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, during a virtual news
conference - BlueRoomStream
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State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, echoed Hauter's points, saying the
licensing issue should be No. 1 on their list of problems to fix
regarding health care.
"The loss of health care professionals directly ties into the delay of
health care services," said Morgan. "This is perhaps the most
significant health care challenge in the state of Illinois at this
moment."
David Porter of the Illinois State Medical Society said fixing the
process is the No. 1 issue facing Illinois physicians.
"One of the issues of utmost importance to physicians is the overall
effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the licensing renewal process,"
Porter said. "We hear from many physicians that the Illinois licensing
process is overly difficult, takes too long and provides an applicant
with virtually no transparency regarding the status of one's
application."
Mario Treto, Jr., of IDFPR, said their equipment is unable to care for
the demands of the 21st century.
"The system is from the last century, it is from the 1990s," Treto said.
"The only way for this crisis to be solved is for IDFPR to obtain the
necessary approval to put in place a new system."
In the next legislative session, legislators will look to eliminate
policies they deem outdated to speed up the process. Lawmakers return to
fall session on Oct. 24.
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