Illinois State Assembly of Surgical Technologists

01/03/2026

Happy New Year! 🎉

On behalf of the AST Board of Directors and AST staff, we wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Front row: Director Jaime Lopez, CST, CSFA, RN, FAST; Secretary Rob Blackston, MEd, CST, CSFA, FAST; President Joseph Charleman, DBA, CST, CSFA, FAST; Vice President Dustin Cain, CST, CRCST, CHL, FAST; Treasurer Rachel Clark, CST, CSFA, ST-R, FAST; Director Lisa Day, MA, CST, CSFA, FAST.

Back row: Director Chris Blevins, BS, AAS-ST, CST, FAST; Director Brooke Oliver, MEd, CST, FAST; Director David Blevins, MHA, CST, CSFA, FAST; Director Monica Thulon, CST, CSFA, FAST; Director Stephanie Austin, EdD, CST, FAST.

12/03/2025

Thank you to Senator Adriane Johnson for visiting the Surgical Technology Program at Harper College! Her recognition and appreciation of our profession is invaluable. Behind every surgeon is the one who counts!

12/03/2025

Thank you to State Senator Laura Murphy for visiting Harper College’s Surgical Technology Program!

10/31/2025

State Representative Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) was honored at the Capitol today
and received the 2025 Legislator of the Year Award from the Illinois State Assembly of Surgical Technologists.

Rep. Hernandez is the chief sponsor of the O.R. Patient Safety Act, which passed the House and will require newly hired surgical technologists to graduate from an accredited program.

Left to right: President of the IL State Assembly of Surgical Technologists Sonya Conton, Rep. Barb Hernanez (D-Aurora), Richland CC Surgical Technology Program Director Brooke Oliver and IL State Assembly of Surgical Technologists Government Affairs Director Margaret Vaughn

10/12/2025

ISA Fall Workshop 2025!

This year’s workshop lectures consisted of pediatric surgery, the history of surgery and the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago, breast implant illness, CST legislation, and kidney transplants.

THANK YOU to all our speakers, members, and CST students! It was another wonderful meeting and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone in March!

10/10/2025

✨Tomorrow is our fall seminar! CSTs make sure your AST membership is current so we can automatically upload your CEs! Looking forward to seeing everyone. ✨

09/24/2025

In honor of National Surgical Technologists Week, share your favorite Surg tech memes with us!

09/23/2025

Please join us on Saturday October 11th for our ISA Fall Workshop! 🍂

This year the meeting will take place at Malcolm X College in Chicago and includes a complimentary guided tour through the International Museum of Surgical Science. 🏛️

We have also partnered with the Share Your Soles organization to collect gently used shoes for children, women and men. Please bring your shoes with you to the meeting and our ISA board members with get them to the donation location. 👟

The link to register for the meeting is below and we are looking forward to seeing our members in a few weeks.

Happy Surgical Technologists Week! 😷

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/xfxk3h7

09/22/2025

In honor of National Surgical Technologists Week, here is a podcast discussing our history and highlighting our important roles in the OR.

Enjoy and happy Monday! 😷⚕️💉🩸

In this episode, we will take a look at some of the unsung heroes of the operating room, going back to some of the earliest surgeries. We'll meet some of the interesting roles that developed, including Handlers, Dressers and Surgical Beadles. From there, we'll trace the development of the modern sur...

09/21/2025

Happy National Surgical Technologist Week!! 😷

09/02/2025

𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-
Regina Barajas- Board of Director

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝?
Pazole

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞?
What dreams may come

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝?
My primary goal is to be approachable and supportive, serving as a resource for professionals seeking insight or assistance. I aim to foster an environment where anyone in our field feels comfortable reaching out and sharing their concerns. As well as help advocate for state recognition of our profession.

Thank you Regina for your hard work and dedication to the profession!

08/31/2025

Please join us for the Illinois State Assembly Fall Workshop and Seminar! Registration is now open and the link is provided below. We hope to see you there!

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/xfxk3h7