State Rep. Christina Minicucci joined 44 other state legislators Friday in signing a letter urging Gov. Charlie Baker to “advance Massachusetts’s response to COVID-19 by establishing a process that would grant temporary medical licenses to health care personnel who are licensed and in good standing in foreign countries.”
Minicucci represents part of Haverhill as well as Lawrence, Methuen and North Andover. Rep. Marcos Devers of Lawrence also signed the letter.
The legislators also requested assurances health care providers from Puerto Rico would be treated as health care providers from other states as per a prior executive order. The letter was signed by both state representatives and state senators.
In the letter, legislators noted the administration’s efforts to expand the health care workforce in previous executive orders by assisting the licensure of providers from out of state, expediting the re-certification of retired medical personnel, encouraging medical volunteers, and graduating medical school students early.
In preparation for a “surge,” the legislators urged specific additional action related to Massachusetts residents who are health care professionals who are licensed and in good standing in foreign countries, and those from Puerto Rico.