HB 1357 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to surgical technology and central 2
service technician services; creating part XVII of ch. 3
468, Florida Statutes, titled "Surgical Technology and 4
Central Service Technician Services"; providing 5
legislative intent; providing definitions; providing 6
requirements for a person to perform surgical 7
technology or central service technician services at a 8
health care facility; providing credentialing and 9
continuing education requirements for a central 10
service technician; providing applicability; providing 11
an effective date. 12
13
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
15
Section 1. Part XVII of chapter 468, Florida Statutes, 16
consisting of sections 468.91, 468.93, 468.95, and 468.97, 17
Florida Statutes, is created to read: 18
19
PART XVII 20
SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY AND CENTRAL SERVICE 21
TECHNICIAN SERVICES 22
23
468.91 Legislative intent. —The sole legislative purpose 24
for enacting this part is to ensure that eve ry new surgical 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
technologist or central service technician employed in the state 26
meets minimum requirements for safe practice as a member of the 27
surgical care team. It is the intent of the legislature that 28
surgical technologists or central service technici ans who fall 29
below minimum competency or who otherwise present a danger to 30
the public health and safety be prohibited from practicing in 31
the state. 32
468.93 Definitions. —As used in this part, the term: 33
(1) "Central service technician" means a person who 34
decontaminates, inspects, assembles, packages, and sterilizes 35
reusable medical instruments or devices being used by a health 36
care facility. 37
(2) "Health care facility" means a hospital or an 38
ambulatory surgical center as those terms are defined in s. 39
395.002. 40
(3) "Health care practitioner" means a person licensed or 41
certified under chapter 457; chapter 458; chapter 459; chapter 42
460; chapter 461; chapter 462; chapter 463; chapter 464; chapter 43
465; chapter 466; chapter 467; part I, part II, part III, part 44
IV, part V, and part XIV of chapter 468; chapter 478, chapter 45
480, chapter 483, chapter 485, chapter 486, chapter 490, or 46
chapter 491. 47
(4) "Surgical technologist" means a person who provides 48
surgical technology services who is not a health care 49
practitioner. 50
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(5) "Surgical technology" means surgical services, 51
including, but not limited to, the following: 52
(a) Preparing the operating room and the sterile field for 53
surgical procedures by ensuring that surgical equipment is 54
functioning properly and safely and using sterile techniques to 55
prepare supplies, instruments, and equipment. 56
(b) Intraoperative care and response to the needs of a 57
health care practitioner by monitoring the sterile field and 58
providing the required instruments or supplies. 59
(c) Performance of tasks at the sterile field in an 60
operating room setting, including: 61
1. Passing supplies, equipment, or instruments. 62
2. Sponging or suctioning an operative site. 63
3. Preparing and cutting suture material. 64
4. Transferring and irrigating with fluids. 65
5. Transferring, but not administering, drugs within the 66
sterile field. 67
6. Handling specimens. 68
7. Holding retractors. 69
8. Assisting in counting sponges, needles, supplies, and 70
instruments. 71
468.95 Training and certification requirements for 72
surgical technologists. — 73
(1) A health care facility shall only employ or otherwise 74
retain the services of a person to perform surgical technology 75
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if such person: 76
(a) Has successfully completed an accredited surgical 77
technologists program and holds and maintains a certified 78
surgical technologist credential administered by the National 79
Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting or its 80
successor; 81
(b) Has successfully completed an accredited surgical 82
technologists program, but has not, as of the date of hire, 83
obtained the certified surgical technologist certification 84
required in paragraph (a), provided that such certification 85
shall be obtained within 12 months after the graduation date; 86
(c) Was employed as a surgical technologist in a health 87
care facility on or before December 31, 2022; or 88
(d) Has successfully completed a surgical technologist 89
program in the United States Army, Navy, or Air Force or as a 90
surgical technologist in the commissioned corps of the United 91
States Public Health Service which has been deemed appropriate 92
by the State Surgeon General. 93
(2) This section does not prohibit a health care 94
practitioner from performing surgical technology services if he 95
or she is acting within the scope of his or her license or 96
certification. 97
468.97 Training and certification requirements for central 98
service technicians. — 99
(1) A health care facility shall only employ or otherwise 100
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retain the services of a person to perform as a central service 101
technician if such person has successfully passed a nationally 102
accredited exam for central service technicians and holds and 103
maintains one of the following credentials administered by a 104
nationally accredited central service technician credentialing 105
organization: 106
(a) A certified registered central service technician 107
credential; 108
(b) A certified sterile processing and distribution 109
technician credential; or 110
(c) Provides evidence that he or she was employed by or 111
provided services of a central service technician to a health 112
care facility on or before Decem ber 31, 2022. 113
(2) A central service technician who does not meet the 114
requirements of subsection (1) shall have 18 months from the 115
date of hire to obtain the certified registered central service 116
technician credential or the certified sterile processing an d 117
distribution technician credential. 118
(3) A person who qualifies as a central service technician 119
in a health care facility under subsection (1) must annually 120
complete at least 10 hours of continuing education credits to 121
continue employment as a central s ervice technician. The 122
continuing education required under this subsection shall be in 123
the area related to the functions of a central service 124
technician. 125
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(4) A health care facility shall, upon the written request 126
of a central service technician, verify, in writing, the central 127
service technician's dates of employment or the contract period 128
during which the central service technician provided services to 129
the health care facility. 130
(5) This section does not prohibit the following persons 131
from performing the tasks or functions of a central service 132
technician: 133
(a) A health care practitioner if he or she is acting 134
within the scope of his or her license or certification. 135
(b) A student or intern if he or she is performing the 136
functions of a central service technician under the direct 137
supervision of a health care practitioner as part of the 138
student's or intern's training or internship. 139
(c) A person who holds or maintains a registration, 140
certification, or license from a nationally accredited 141
credentialing organization to perform health services. 142
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 143