Illinois § 10

§ 10.

Findings. The General Assembly finds and declares: (1) The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already growing health care workforce shortage, creating significant hiring challenges and reducing access to care. (2) Pandemic flexibility and reciprocity permitted an additional 25,000 highly trained health care workers to provide needed services to Illinoisans. The end of this flexibility and reciprocity have resulted in a significant loss to the State's health care workforce. (3) A February 2024 report created for the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shows that health care is one of the stalwarts of the Illinois economy and Illinois employers will add more health care jobs at a stronger pace than other sectors, as a response to a growing aging population. Illinois hospitals alone are responsible for creating 445,000 jobs and infusing $117,000,000,000 into the Illinois economy. (4) Studies from the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation show that the majority of licensed nurses are employed full-time while Illinois will still face an estimated shortage of 15,000 registered nurses by the end of 2025. (5) Continued advancements in health care and health care delivery require constant review of resource allocation to ensure the workforce is trained and prepared for those changes. (6) The Illinois health care workforce is not representative of the Illinois population due to barriers for many underrepresented groups. (7) Average waiting times of 175 minutes in hospital emergency departments have contributed to health care workers facing unacceptably high levels of violence from patients and visitors, further challenging the ability to retain highly trained and qualified staff. (8) Public Act 103-0725 creates important opportunities for international medical graduate physicians to play an important role in the growth of the Illinois health care workforce. (9) The lack of an adequate health care workforce has, in part, resulted in a continued shortage of critical health care services and a reduction in access to care. (10) The launch and implementation of the comprehensive regulatory environment by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation offers tangible opportunities to use technology to enhance the licensure experience for health care professionals as well as allow data to drive decision-making in the workforce space. (Source: P.A. 104-359, eff. 1-1-26.)