[AltecRN]

Originally Posted by Julia RN

On the UAN disaffiliation-

Are you saying Ohio is still a member of the AFL at the national level? Don't you have to have a charter to be a member? The AFL unions that represent nurses support a federal bill that has mandated minimum ratios which are adjustable for acuity and other factors. Does ONA support this bill or the ANA one that is more similar to the Ohio "staffing committee" bill?

I'm a rank and file member and could never presume to speak for anyone but myself. I'm certainly in no position to address what would be policy issues and positions for ONA.

[RN Power Ohio]

One more point to consider.. look at this article published on the ONA website not long ago to support their elimination of mandatory overtime bill:

Congressional research agrees with ONA; concludes its a "staffing crisis" and there is no true nursing shortage [from Ohio Nurses Association web site]


Healthcare facility associations in opposition to legislation calling for safe staffing and prohibitions against mandatory overtime have been decrying a nursing shortage as the reason why such drastic measures as mandatory overtime are a necessary "tool".(See end-note) In reality, the nurses have been there all along, and what is truly a "necessity" is an acute examination of, and accountability for, patient care conditions.


The Congressional Research Service (CRS), at the request of the 107th Congress, recently released a report echoing what ONA has been stating all along: that a maldistribution of labor, rather than an actual shortage, is pinpointed as the likely culprit behind the nation's nurse staffing crisis. For many months now, after having extensively studied the nursing bedside shortage crisis, ONA has concluded and claimed that numerically there is no shortage of nurses in Ohio, rather, there is a mass defection of nurses from bedside nursing into other areas of healthcare, or leaving nursing altogether. The true culprit - unacceptable work environment conditions.


The report, which was released to Congress May 18, noted that available labor market indicators do not indicate "conclusively" that there is "an across-the-board shortage of RNs at the present time." The document further blames "poor personnel decisions" for any spot shortages of nurses that have occurred, rather than a simple lack of available nurse recruits. However, again echoing the sentiments of ONA, the report also warns that facilities could face a shortage of nurses by 2010 if "ameliorative actions" are not undertaken.


Highlighting Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) data, the report notes that graduations from nursing education programs will increase between 1998 and 2020 by 13%, compared to 10% between 1976 and 1998. But the report also cautions that while the percentage of nursing education graduations will continue to "increase steadily," by 2020, "assuming no preemptive steps have been taken, the demand for RNs could exceed supply by 20%."


ONA and ANA have long supported many of the remedies the report suggests, including increasing wages, improving working conditions and lowering education costs.


ONA is working with health care leaders in the Ohio House and Senate on House Bill 78, the Safe Nursing Patient Care bill, to address the use of mandatory overtime, along with other workforce and staffing issues.


END-NOTE: A representative and staff member of the Ohio Hospital Association recently stated during a television interview on Nurses Day, "We don't believe that we can legislate ourselves out of the nursing shortage. There's no way that we can pass a law and overnight create enough nurses. We need to have a very long-term approach and we're working on that. We think this is the wrong time to do something that would take away a tool that our hospitals need to meet the patient care needs by saying, okay, we've just taken mandatory overtime off the table."


Ohio Nurses Association
4000 E. Main Street
Columbus, O 43213-2983
Phone: 614-237-5414
Fax: 614-237-6074

[Terry RN]

Altec, I believe you have a point. However, patients are the same here as in Calf. We can pass real meaningful legislation if we want to. Why settle for administrative controlled, meaningless legislation that will continue what we are doing now. The OHA does not need any legislation to have the voice of the direct care nurse heard they introduced this legislation for the purpose of pretending for us to have input.

[AltecRN]

Originally Posted by RN Power Ohio

One more point to consider.. look at this article published on the ONA website not long ago to support their elimination of mandatory overtime bill:

Congressional research agrees with ONA

Pardon me but lets be accurate, you say it was on the ONA website "not long ago". This is very OLD information. It refers to the 107th Congress (2001-2002) and we are now in the 110th. HB 78 was before the 124th General Assembly. We are now in the 127th. We need to look at what is the reality of today rather than using old information as if it were reflective of 2008. While I would not dispute the statements that were made back then we need to look at today. We are now in a post 9/11 world. The war on terror; bioterrorism; a global marketplace; and a never-ending war all have taken a toll and changed our priorities. You cannot separate the issues we face in health care and nursing from what is happening on the larger world stage.

We are an aging nursing workforce with the vast majority of us getting closer to retirement each day. We still have not been able to address the shortage of nurse faculty and clinical placement site issues in a manner that assures a steady supply of nurses to replace the aging baby boomers. We see more nurses getting advanced degrees and filling voids in the primary care arena. The cost of health care continues to outpace other sectors of the economy and the number of uninsured and under insured people continues to grow placing increasing demands on an ever more fragile economy. Technological developments have changed the care delivery model dramatically and our “flat world” economy is changing the face of every aspect of our world including health care.

Resolving the nurse shortage is multifaceted as was stated in a report ONA prepared for Gov. Strickland just last year. It stated, “Ohio, like most states, is facing a burgeoning shortage of nurses. Efforts to address the shortage are two-pronged—recruitment of new nurses into the profession and retention of existing licensees.” With respect to retention, the report goes on to say, “Retention of the existing, experienced nurse workforce is essential if Ohio is to assure accessible, safe care for its citizens. Environmental issues are most often cited by nurses as the reason they leave direct patient care. Ergonomic factors and staffing issues are among the environmental factors that affect the decision to remain at the bedside.”

In response to that observation, ONA has worked to establish through legislation incentives that would encourage facilities to institute safe patient handling policies and procedures. In addition, ONA has been working on the staffing principles legislation and other bills related to the shortage of nurse faculty members. While many would like to point fingers and complain that these efforts do not go far enough they are at least steps forward. We have also invested time and energy resources in the Nursing 2015 Initiative that holds a great deal of promise for a better future for nursing if we can keep the passion, patience, and persistence going in a way that sustains what has already been accomplished and keeps the momentum going. Those who would scrap all that we have accomplished really offer a promise of nothing better to take its place. I hear a lot of rhetoric and complaining but have seen little in the way of concrete action that can truly have an impact given the real world of Ohio politics.

[RN Power Ohio]

One question, what has changed since then that has improved environmental factors and staffing? Nothing. I suppose you did not look at the OBN and OHA websites for the Ohio stats on number of nurses.
I don't think that anyone is looking at mandated minimimum ratio's as the total solution to the nursing crisis but even Suzanne Gordon stated in her presentation in Cleveland the other night "ratio's are an essential basic step for a much needed change in nursing". I recommend everyone read her book "Safety In Numbers: Nurse to patient ratio's and the future of healthcare" as soon as it is released in April. It is a comprehensive discussion of the evolution and developement of mandated minimum ratio's in both California and Victoria. In addition the results of new study done by Linda Aiken reporting the positive changes in the workforce in California as a result of ratio implementation.
She also commented on the wonderful work of the Massachusetts Nurses.
Visit their website and watch the testimony presented there for their ratio bill. http://www.massnurses.org/

I suppose it all comes down to what you believe your duty is...

"We commit ourselves to any wrong or degradation or injury whenever we do not protest against it." Lilian Wald, RN, Activist, Reformer 1867-1940

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

[Terry RN]

Thank you RN power Ohio. Ohio families deserve better than HB346. it is unenforcable and not real staffing legislation

Originally Posted by RN Power Ohio

Ohio NNOC is preparing to introduce the Ohio Hospital Patient Protection Act. In the meantime we are lobbying against Ohio HB 346 "common sense staffing legislation".

http://www.calnurses.org/media-cente...form-bill.html

[Terry RN]

Sad but true.... Ohio direct care nurses have very little input in staffing issues and HB 346 will due nothing to fix it. Does Ohio have any regulation on the critical boarding of patients??? the use of virtual beds in the emergency room??? If we are overwhelmed can we demand help??? I think not. We as Ohio nurses have the duty to advocate for our patients but not the right. meaning we can keep our license but not our job. We must not settle for legislation that promises nothing more than to talk about this more. We must have legislation that limits the number of patients we can care for at any given time and limits floating to situations where the nurse is familar and competant. There can be no floating nurses into areas that they are not ready or comfortable being in. We can fix this. We can demand lunches and breaks.
HB346 is not even close to the answer.

[Nurseslight]

Not to worry MBA, a lot of nurses are confused as to why ONA would support HB346, but then again...
Who do the nursing service and nursing education administrators speak for?
They speak on behalf of their employers - the hospitals, the hospital association, Universities, etc, etc. They do not speak for direct care RNs.

[CintiRN]

After reading all the comments on this site,I would question the motives of the NNOC in Ohio. Has anyone read the HB346? Alot of information is available on ONA,OBN and AACCN web sites. While I agree that there are multitude of issues facing nursing, Fighting amoung ourselves is counter productive. Research all the facts before you make a choice of who to believe.

[RN Power Ohio]

Originally Posted by CintiRN

After reading all the comments on this site,I would question the motives of the NNOC in Ohio... Research all the facts before you make a choice of who to believe.

The mission of NNOC in Ohio and every state is as follows:

The National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) is a new national union and professional organization for Registered Nurses, Advance Practice Nurses, and RN organizations throughout the country who want to pursue a more powerful agenda of patient advocacy that promotes the interests of patients, direct care nurses, and RN professional practice. NNOC was founded by the California Nurses Association in the spring of 2004 with the support of a growing number of nurse organizations that are seeking more effective representation and wish to join the movement being led by CNA. Through the NNOC, RN organizations and non-organized RNs around the country are able to work together to achieve dramatic progress for direct care nurses and patients in their facilities, their communities, their states and at the national level.

Also- please see my earlier posts with facts about HB 346- it is the same law that has failed in Tx, Ca, MA and is having trouble being implemented in Oregon. Read the all telling fiscal analysis- link above.