Published on June 25, 2026 2:56 pm
Last Updated on June 25, 2026 2:58 pm
(ST. SEN. STEVE McCLURE)
Legislation is headed to the Governor’s desk designed to keep rural ambulance services staffed and on-call to help save lives.
The legislation, sponsored by State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Murrayville) and State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield), provides important flexibility to rural ambulance services to meet legally mandated staffing requirements.
Representative Davidsmeyer has been working with local ambulance service officials for the past couple of years on the legislation.
“Staffing limitations may lead to long wait-times for individuals in an emergency and in need of an ambulance,” Rep. Davidsmeyer said. “By allowing rural areas flexibility in staffing ambulances, they can improve response time and get the patient to a hospital faster. I want to thank our local officials for working with us on this important legislation and I thank Senator McClure for getting it over the finish line in the Senate.”
“When people have a medical emergency, ambulances provide a crucial link to get them treatment quickly, whether the patient is in an urban or rural setting,” said Senator McClure. “This legislation updates staffing requirements to make sure that in rural areas, ambulance crews can remain in service and continue saving lives.”
Under current law, minimum staffing requirements can be tough to meet in rural areas, causing long wait-times for patients. House Bill 5446 updates the standards with the ability to staff rural ambulances in qualifying areas with part-time employees. The goal is to keep more ambulances staffed, which will help reduce response times so that patients can get to hospitals faster.
The bill passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly unanimously and now awaits the Governor’s signature to become law.
