SLS 201ES-262 ORIGINAL
2020 First Extraordinary Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 19
BY SENATOR BARROW
HEALTH CARE. Urges the Louisiana Department of Health to recommend standards and
curricula on the subject of implicit bias in the delivery of health care.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to recommend and make publicly
3 available standards and curricula on the subject of implicit bias in the delivery of
4 health care for health professional education programs and health professional
5 licensing boards.
6 WHEREAS, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, health care professionals
7 have been among the most valued and trusted workers in our state and nation; and
8 WHEREAS, Louisiana's health care workers have performed heroically and made
9 incredible sacrifices in fulfilling their professional calling during our state's response to
10 COVID-19; and
11 WHEREAS, like all other persons, regardless of background, culture, or creed,
12 health care professionals carry with them ingrained and often unconscious assumptions
13 about the people with whom they interact; and
14 WHEREAS, these assumptions can manifest into a characteristic known as implicit
15 bias; and
16 WHEREAS, implicit bias, which is also referred to as unconscious bias, refers to the
17 attitudes and beliefs about other people that affect our understanding, decisions, and actions
18 in an unconscious manner; and
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SLS 201ES-262 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, our attitudes and beliefs affect how we treat individuals based on
2 characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance which can impact the provision
3 of health care; and
4 WHEREAS, a growing body of evidence indicates that implicit bias in the delivery
5 of health care leads to poor health outcomes, increases in the cost of care, and the widening
6 of health disparities; and
7 WHEREAS, there are twenty-four health profession licensing boards statutorily
8 created to regulate the profession and protect the public; and
9 WHEREAS, to improve the health and well-being of people, licensed health
10 professionals must know the importance of understanding and treating the whole person; and
11 WHEREAS, instituting curricula and training initiatives which address implicit bias
12 in health care will empower Louisiana's health professionals to have a positive impact on the
13 lives of the people they treat and will improve the overall quality of health care delivered to
14 the people of our state.
15 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
16 does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to recommend and make
17 publicly available standards and curricula on implicit bias for the various types of licensed
18 health professionals in this state.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
20 hereby urge and request each school of medicine, nursing, and allied health in this state to
21 compare its current training and educational curricula on implicit bias with the
22 recommended standards and curricula published by the Louisiana Department of Health in
23 accordance with this Resolution, and to adopt or adapt the recommended standards and
24 curricula for its health professional education programs.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
26 hereby urge and request each health profession licensing board of this state to work with the
27 Louisiana Department of Health to offer to its licensees training on implicit bias that aligns
28 with the recommended standards and curricula published by the department in accordance
29 with this Resolution, and to consider instituting completion of training on implicit bias as
30 a requirement for licensure.
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SLS 201ES-262 ORIGINAL
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
2 secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the director of boards and commissions of
3 the office of the governor, and the commissioner of higher education.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Brandi Cannon.
DIGEST
SR 19 Original 2020 First Extraordinary Session Barrow
Provides that the term "implicit bias" refers to the attitudes and beliefs about other people
that affect our understanding, decisions, and actions in an unconscious manner.
Requests all of the following:
(1)That the La. Department of Health (LDH) make publicly available recommended
standards and curricula on implicit bias for the various types of licensed health
professionals in this state.
(2)That each school of medicine, nursing, and allied health in this state compare its
current training and educational curricula on implicit bias with the recommended
standards and curricula published by LDH and adopt or adapt those standards and
curricula for its health professional education programs.
(3)That each health professional licensing board of this state work with LDH to offer
its licensees training on implicit bias that aligns with department-recommended
standards and curricula and consider instituting completion of training on implicit
bias as a requirement for licensure.
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