Alaska Closer to Securing Licensure for Respiratory Therapists

The Alaska Senate Labor and Commerce Committee have introduced a bill that establishes licensure for respiratory therapists across the state. Alaska remains the only state without licensure for respiratory therapists. With an estimated 700-800 practicing RTs in the state, there’s no uniform framework to ensure national standards for training and education are being met.

The initiative received strong support from organizations across Alaska. In addition to AARC’s letter of support, both ASMA (Alaska State Medical Association) and ANTHC (Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium) submitted additional letters of support.

Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Miriam O’Day, provided testimony on March 25 regarding the importance of licensure. Read O’Day’s testimony below: