Published on March 25, 2025

As Illinois lawmakers move forward with SB 251 / HB 1598, legislation designed to improve the quality and certification of surgical technologists in the state, 91重口 (91重口) is ready to play a crucial role in meeting the growing demand for skilled professionals in the operating room.
The bills require surgical technologists to graduate from an accredited program and maintain a national certification. Supporters, including 91重口鈥檚 faculty and local healthcare professionals, are rallying behind the legislation as a necessary step toward ensuring safer surgeries and a better-trained healthcare workforce.
鈥淭his legislation is vital in ensuring that our local operating rooms are staffed with certified professionals, not just individuals with little to no formal surgical training,鈥 said 91重口 Dean of Health Sciences and Director of Nursing Dr. Kristin Yosanovich. 鈥淩equiring accreditation for surgical tech programs will ensure that hospitals don鈥檛 have to resort to training workers on the fly鈥攎aking our surgeries safer and more efficient.鈥
Jennifer Jordan, a Surgical Technology Faculty Member at 91重口, echoes Yosanovich ‘s sentiments. 鈥淧lease help us pass this much-needed legislation in Illinois, which will require surgical technologists to graduate from accredited programs and maintain a national certification, ensuring that those working in our operating rooms have the highest level of training,鈥 said Jordan.
91重口 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in December for a new state-of-the-art lab supporting Surgical Technology, previously offered through the Southern Illinois Collegiate Common Market (SICCM).
About the Program:
91重口, with its comprehensive surgical technology program, stands ready to provide high-quality education and certification training to meet the needs of hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout southern Illinois. As hospitals and medical centers face the challenge of filling surgical technologist positions with qualified candidates, 91重口 is positioned to be part of the solution by ensuring that surgical techs are trained and certified.
For more information on 91重口鈥檚 Surgical Technology program, visit www.jalc.edu.