For Immediate Release
October 30, 2019
Contact:
Whitney Barnes
217.638.3543
Illinois Chamber: Ethylene oxide
ban threatens life-saving health care in Illinois
“The ability to safely sterilize medical devices and materials is vital to the health and safety of our community and to employers paying for high-quality health care in Illinois,” said Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch. “This legislation will have significant ramifications for the health care material supply chain, and could result in shortages of sterilized devices and materials, despite the fact that Illinois passed the most stringent regulatory scheme in the nation earlier this year. Last week, the FDA sent out a statement on their concerns with medical device availability due to certain sterilization facility closures, as a result of potential actions in Illinois and Georgia to limit ethylene oxide sterilization processes. Passing this legislation without a plan for how Illinois will support our health care system’s demand for life-saving medical equipment or make up for years of wasted research and development on new technologies dependent on this form of sterilization, is recklessly endangering the health and welfare of millions of people in Illinois and around the country.”
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