BILL NUMBER: S6329

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the license require-
ments for the practice of respiratory therapy

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To update the license requirements for respiratory therapy consistent
with current national standards.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 changes the educational requirement for licensure as a respir-
atory therapist from an associate to a bachelor's degree.  Alternative-
ly, applicants may participate in a program deemed to be equivalent to a
bachelor's degree by the Education Department within six years of
initial licensure. The Education Department is empowered to issue condi-
tional registration to a licensee who does not attain a baccalaureate
degree but agrees to meet the additional requirement within one year.
              

Additionally, the Education Department may issue a two year temporary
educational exemption to licensees who are unable to meet the baccalau-
reate degree requirement due to a demonstrated lack of access to educa-
tional programs.

Section 2 ends the licensing of respiratory therapist technicians as
that licensing level is now obsolete.

Sections 3 and 4 state that the new licensure requirements will not
affect current licensees or students who are either currently enrolled
in or have a pending application for an approved associate degree
program in respiratory therapy or its approved equivalent.

Section 5 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation will improve the health, safety, and welfare of New
York citizens in need of respiratory therapy services by increasing the
educational standards for Respiratory Therapists (RTs) to a bachelor's
degree in keeping with best practices. Respiratory Therapists are
healthcare practitioners who play an integral part in diagnosing lung
and breathing disorders, consulting with physicians on treatments,
assessing patients, and recommending specific changes in therapy based
on their patient assessments. They are involved in analyzing data to
determine levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other physiological
parameters. Respiratory Therapists contribute heavily to managing
patients on a variety of advanced modes of mechanical ventilation and
artificial airway devices, and actively participate in rapid response
teams and emergency situations.

Respiratory Therapists also provide education to patients and their
families about how to best care for their cardiopulmonary disorders in
both the inpatient and outpatient care setting.  Respiratory Therapists
played a significant role in treating COVID-19 patients who were crit-
ically ill and those who required life support equipment such as mechan-
ical ventilation, high flow oxygen therapy, or Extracorporeal Membrane
Oxygenation. Along with managing life support equipment, Respiratory
Therapists intubate patients, and are responsible for obtaining arterial
blood gases to help make critical parameter adjustments to patients on
life support equipment. With significant healthcare resource shortages
and a significant increase in critical care patient load during the
COVID-19 pandemic, it was imperative that Respiratory Therapists think
quickly and provide immediate critical care during this extremely diffi-
cult time.

New York first recognized the practice of respiratory therapy and
respiratory therapist technician as licensed professions in 1992.
Cardiopulmonary medicine, pharmaceutical treatment, and medical technol-
ogy have significantly advanced since 1992, as has the academic prepara-
tion and professional standards for Respiratory Therapists. A corre-
sponding advancement in educational requirements for licensure to a
bachelor's degree is necessary to ensure that future respiratory thera-
pists are adequately academically prepared for this expanding role.
Associate degree programs have a limited amount of time to properly
deliver the curriculum, while bachelor's degree programs have the abili-
ty for educational training and experience in more advanced clinical
practice, teaching, management, and research. This higher academic
requirement will ensure Respiratory Therapists are able to continue to
contribute to improving patient outcomes. Those individuals currently
licenesed Respiratory Therapists will not be impacted by this legis-
lation, and the legislation allows for a six year period for a new
licensee that is a graduate of an associate's degree program to complete
a bachelor's degree while still being licensed as a respiratory thera-
pist during that six year period.

Additionally, this legislation eliminates the Respiratory Therapist
Technician license for new applicants but allows previously issued
licenses to be renewed. The state no longer has one-year certificate
programs for Respiratory Therapist Technicians. In addition, a national
educational accrediting body report indicates that individuals who were
baccalaureate prepared had a greater passage rate for Registered Respir-
atory Therapist credentialing than those who were associate degree
prepared. In 2020, the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care
(CoARC) updated its "Entry into Professional Practice" standards to
reflect the minimum expectation goal of respiratory care practice
performed by Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRT), eliminating the
previous standard which relied on the CRT exam success rate (for RTT
license) as outcome measurement for programs.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: S4497A - Referred to Higher Education

2023: S4497A - Referred to Higher Education

2022: S5925 - Referred to Higher Education

2021: S5925 - Referred to Higher Education

2020: A7304 - Referred to Higher Education

2019: A7304 - Referred to Higher Education

2018: S8484 - Referred to Higher Education
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately