Illinois State Assembly of Surgical Technologists

02/28/2026

Please take a moment to fill out a witness slip to show support of SB 2940 and select "PROPONENT" and "RECORD OF APPEARANCE ONLY".

https://www.ilga.gov/Senate/hearings/details/3077/22522/CreateWitnessSlip/?legislationId=165337&GaId=18&View=Create

Our mission remains the same: advancing the Operating Room Patient Safety Act to protect patients and strengthen surgical standards across our state.

This legislation ensures surgical technologists graduate from accredited programs, maintain certification, and ensures that qualified surgical technologists are part of every procedure.

02/13/2026

MALCOLM X COLLEGE PRESIDENT HOSTS LEGISLATORS in HIGH TECH SIMULATION HOSPITAL

State Representatives Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago, Michael Crawford (D-Chicago) and Lindsay LaPointe (D-Chicago) toured Malcom X' College's state- of- the- art Interprofessional Simulation and Virtual Hospital today, as special guests of College President David Sanders and Health Science Dean Nate Mendes, MD.

To gain a better understanding of the complex role surgical technologists play in the O.R., they "scrubbed in" to a mock surgery. Surgical technologists ensure the equipment, instrumentation, and sterile field are all in proper form and work directly alongside the surgeon during the entire operation, a profession that requires specialized knowledge, skill and expertise in this area.

Malcom X College is one of 20 accredited Surgical Technology Programs throughout Illinois. The Operating Room Patient Safety Act is pending in Springfield, which requires accredited training and certification for newly hired surgical technologists.

01/22/2026

Please join us for our annual March meeting in Peoria. Registration is now open and the link is provided below. We are looking forward to seeing everyone!

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/6s2jxsj/lp/bd21d199-a2fe-4fe4-b127-c2d07b8797f4

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...