AJN Online

Tim-GNP · Jul 6, 2001

Hey, jt, I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to throw up this URL for anyone interested.

For the benefit of those who want to know what ANA does, I just made a visit to their site and downloaded a few of their reports. Even I didn't realize how much they were into politically. If interested, check out the following link....

http://www.ana.org/about/lately/ceohome.htm

I wonder what other organizations have done---

natalie · Jul 6, 2001

Hi Tim,

I thought this summary was great.

http://www.ana.org/about/lately/ceomay01.htm

This report summarizes the highlights of ANA activities during May 2001. The report focuses on the following Core ANA Issues and functions:

Nurse Staffing

ANA is leading the way in research, policy and practice, and workplace strategies to ensure that the number and mix of staff are appropriate, protecting both patients and nurses.

President Foley, First Vice President Underwood and CEO Stierle attended the Wreath-Laying Ceremony on May 7, 2001 at the Vietnam Women's Memorial at the Vietnam Wall and Spirit of Nurses Statue, Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

President Foley keynoted for the Mt. Sinai Hospital on May 8, 2001 in New York City on "Nursing Today."

President Foley testified before the Ohio State House Health Committee in Columbus on the staffing bill and participated in the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) State rally on May 9, 2001.

CEO Stierle chaired two-90 minute conference calls on May 17, 2001 and May 31, 2001 with the Steering Committee members of the Call to the Profession Nursing Summit to begin discussion on participation, methodology, logistics and results.

Worked with colleagues in nursing unions to secure commitments from Senators John Kerry (D-MA, Senate Finance Committee Member) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA, Chairman Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee) and Representative Pete Stark (D-CA, Chairman House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health) to draft and introduce legislation banning the use of mandatory overtime through Medicare. Staff negotiated with the nursing unions and the Members of Congress to ensure that the legislation will provide licensed nurses with the ability to determine, without fear of reprisal, whether or not to accept a request for overtime.

Provided an update to the Federation of American Hospitals' committee on the nursing shortage. Explained the urgent need to address the hostile working conditions that are causing staff nurses to leave the profession. Provided information on the higher retention rates achieved through best practices and explained ANA's efforts on mandatory overtime.

Continued to update legislation that is part of the nationwide state staffing legislative agenda addressing such issues as nurse staffing, needlestick legislation, interstate nurse compacts, nurse practice acts, advanced practice nurses, state licensing reform initiatives, EMT scope of practice, first assistants in surgery, physician collective bargaining and other workplace issues:

Prohibition of Mandatory Overtime

Introduced in CA, CT, HI, IL, ME, MD, MN, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, WA, WV

Whistleblower Protection

Introduced in HI, IL, MO, NY, OR, RI Passed in WV

Collection and Public Reporting of Nursing Quality Indicators

Introduced in MA, NY, OR

Mandatory Development and Implementation of Valid and Reliable Nurse Staffing Systems

Introduced in IL, ME, NY, OH, OR, PA

Collection of Nursing Workforce Data

Introduced in GA, HI, NM, TN, TX - Passed in MS, ND

Nursing Workforce Studies

Introduced in CT, KY, ME Passed in AR, PA, VA, WV

Funding for Nursing Education

Introduced in CA, IL, ME, MN, NV, NJ, NY, PA, TX Passed in NE, VA

Provided media information on the nationwide state legislative agenda on staffing to: CNN, Nurses.com, NCSL Legisbrief on Staffing, Kiplinger Letter, Wall Street Journal.

Participated in National Nurses Week (May 10) press conference on nursing shortage and patient safety legislation on Capitol Hill. Issued a press release on ANA's role in pushing for this legislation and in addressing working conditions and patient rights.

Facilitated column by President Foley on current nurse staffing crisis and emerging shortage for MSNBC.com during National Nurses Week.

Provided ANA background/positions on nursing shortage for three-part CNN series (May 7-9) on the nursing shortage. President Foley's interview was featured on CNN.com.

Facilitated interviews and provided ANA background/positions for articles on the nursing shortage in: the Houston Chronicle (week of May 1), The Washington Post (May 11); upcoming shortage articles in The (Gainesville, FL) Times, the Virginian Pilot, the Tucson Citizen, The (Allentown, PA) Morning Call, the Baltimore Sun, the Orlando Sentinel, American Medical News, the Los Angeles Times, Self Magazine and the Associated Press.

Special materials (petitions, banners, posters, patient brochures) circulated and distributed among states for Nurse Week mobilization and publicity. New York, Michigan, Minnesotta, Washington, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and New York conducted major events.

Provided ANA background/positions and facilitated radio and broadcast interviews on the nursing shortage for ANA officials and staff on "Today's Life Choices," Golden Dome Media (President Foley interviewed May 7), Hearst TV (First Vice President Underwood interviewed May 7), Primetime America (President Foley interviewed May 8), "Talk of the Nation," National Public Radio, (Senior Policy Fellow Peterson interviewed May 9), KDKA, Pittsburgh, PA (President Foley interviewed May 13), Fox News Channel (Senior Policy Fellow Peterson interviewed May 17), and WJOB, Indianapolis, IN, and WIMS, Michigan (First Vice President Underwood interviewed May 29).

Workplace Rights

ANA protects, defends and educates nurses about their rights as employees.

Developed a press release responding to the delay in promulgation of the Health Care Financing Administration Final Rule for Certified Nurse Anesthetists.

Participated in a meeting of the steering committee of patients' rights coalition to discuss strategies for possible Senate action on the legislation.

Secured a commitment from Representative John Olver's (D-MA) office to introduce legislation that would require Medicaid fee for service and managed care payers to empanel and directly reimburse nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. Coordinated activities to draft legislation and if enacted, this legislation would remove a major barrier to practice for all advanced practice nurses.

Worked with other nursing organizations to draft letter to members of Congress in opposition to expected legislative efforts to create a broad antitrust exemption to permit physicians to bargain collectively with health plans, an issue that would exacerbate existing barriers to practice for advanced practice nurses.

Developed Workplace Advocacy Commission's new WPA brochure entitled, "Key to Career Satisfaction: The Right Match."

Provided ANA background/positions on story on unionization for the Los Angeles Times.

Issued press releases on UAN affiliation with American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) (May 3) and on UAN/ANA support of striking nurses in Minnesota (May 29).

Coordinated UAN support for strikes in Youngstown, Ohio and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Provided support on conference call for Youngstown strike. Provided similar support on conference calls with ONA leadership regarding threat of strike in Akron, Ohio.

Worked on raids in Miami, Florida and Dublin, Georgia.

Provided research information on Teamsters Union in connection with International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) raid.

Analyzed legal challenges facing members of the New Mexico Nurses Association who blew the whistle on physician's level of competency. Determined need to file amicus brief and started work on brief.

Evaluated impact of Supreme Court decision in NLRB v. Kentucky River Community Care, Inc. and developed "talking points" for use of CMAs.

Assisted HNA with issues surrounding videotaping of nurses during takedowns at mental health facilities.

Assisted a CMA with nurse whistleblower who had problems with emergency room procedure, lack of countersignature on patient records, orders written on chalkboard and not transferred to patient record, and failure of institution to report malfunctions of medical devices and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations.

Workplace Health and Safety

ANA fights for a safer workplace by addressing the growing number of hazards that threaten nurses, such as needle stick injuries, latex allergy, back injuries and violence.

President Foley participated as a panelist at the Anneburg III Conference on May 16, 2001 on "Let's Talk: Communicating Risk and Safety in Health Care and on May 18, 2001 as a panelist on "Lessons Learned" in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Secured position for President Foley to speak at a Congressional press conference on the Nurse Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1436, S. 706) which would provide federal funds for loan repayments, scholarships, faculty development, continuing education and publicity campaigns to attract students into the nursing profession. Senators Tom Daschle (D-SD), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), John Kerry (D-MA) and Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Sue Kelly (R-NY), and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) were all present at this event. ANA's visible participation reinforced our leadership position in the developing debate over the emerging nurse shortage.

Participated in a briefing at a meeting of the National Council of State Legislators (NCSL). Provided an update on Federal efforts to address the nursing shortage and explained the relationship between working conditions and staff vacancies and the need to address issues beyond education funding. Also highlighted ANA's coordinated state legislative agenda. The American Hospital Association was also present to brief NCSL.

Submitted testimony to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for hearing on emerging nurse shortage.

Prepared written testimony on the need for an ergonomics standard and to be presented to Senate committee.

Co-sponsored "CleanMed 2001: An International Conference on Environmentally Preferable Medical Products on May 4-5, 2001 which continues to position ANA as an authority on these issues both nationally and internationally.

Provided ANA's perspective on the adequacy of prescriber package inserts to a workgroup of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) dealing with the issue of paperless package inserts as a means of decreasing prescribing errors.

Worked to ensure indicators related to staffing and skill mix, pain and patient satisfaction were included in the measures being advanced by the National Quality Forum (NQF).

Prepared e-mail response to NursingWorld inquiry about liability for not using available defibrilator in workplace setting because employer did not wish to incur liability for its use.

Prepared article for AJN on legal issues regarding the use of unlicensed personnel.

Continuing Competence

Today's informed consumers are demanding that the competence of licensed professionals be validated throughout their career. ANA must lead the debate and guide the development and implementation of continued competency standards for the profession.

Signed a contract with Robin Newhouse and Mary Etta Mills on May 15, 2001 by American Nurses Publishing to author a book on Nursing Leadership in the Organized Delivery System for the Acute Care Setting. Projected publication date is July 2002.

Entered into agreement with Stanford University and Yale School of Nursing to provide contact hours to nurses online through the SKOLAR RN program.

Produced independent study module for on line service - RN=Real News.

Provided free online continuing education to all nurses for National Nurses Week.

Provided background information on ANA's position on interstate licensure for Nursing Spectrum.

Prepared materials and presentation at the National conference on Nurse Mid-wifery for EPA grant with University of Maryland School of Nursing as first of four Train the Trainer programs. Produced final draft of the first of three continuing education modules for publication in the July/August issue of TAN and online on RNCE.org in August.

Evaluated scope of ANA response to subpoena for records regarding nurse who allegedly misused advanced practice credentials.

Assisted CMA member with problems surrounding scope of Certified Nurse Specialist (CNS)/Nurse Practitioner (NP) in state which does not recognize the CNS as an advanced practice nurse.

Patient Safety/Advocacy

By effecting positive change around issues that are so critical to nursing and its future, ANA will advance its ultimate goal, quality patient care. In today's environment that means ensuring that patient safety and quality are priority, not profit-making.

Facilitated radio interview for President Foley on New Hampshire Public Radio on a New Hampshire bill that would allow nurse assistants to pass out meds (May 11).

Issued a press release on May 21, protesting President Bush's delay of the nurse anesthetist rule.

Participated in amicus brief, along with South Carolina Nurses Association (SCNA), opposing criminal penalties for pregnant woman with indications of illegal drug use, and supporting rehabilitative intervention instead.

Ethics and Human Rights

Reviewed and provided feedback on International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG) draft position statement on privacy and confidentiality of genetic information;

Added ethics and human rights interest items to Center's website;

Planned for new features and design enhancements of Newsletter, Ethics and Human Rights: Issues Update.

Conducted legal research concerning consent laws requiring nurses to take blood from patients to test for alcoholic content without the patient's direct consent as requested by Missouri Nurses Association (MONA).

-jt · Jul 6, 2001

all that in just the month of May.

The site also brings you to the activity of every other month of the yr so far.

Is it any wonder staff RN members disagree with unaware non-members who say the ANA does nothing for us or does not speak for the interests of all nurses?

In my opinion, my dues are being well spent.