Let's call Oprah

S.N. Visit, BSN, RN · May 5, 2006

I just went to http://www2.oprah.com/email/reach/email_showideas.jhtml and submitted a request! who's next?

Joan1199 · May 6, 2006

I have written to Oprah. Who else has? I challenge other nurses to take action and write.

savanah · May 6, 2006

I agree there needs to be an expose' on the nursing shortage and critical staffing. I don't believe Oprah is the one to do it. About ten years ago my sister did a show with Dr Nancy Sneiderman from Good Morning America, which was aired I believe on Prime Time. They need to send someone in to these facilities with hidden cameras and let the public know exactly what goes on, on a daily basis. Every day is a nightmare. I don't know why I go back. The bottom line is most LTC facilities are for profit and they will do anything in their power to increase their profit margin. I have been doing this for 16 years and things have not changed much except that eveyday they want us to do more and the patients get less. We need to start protecting our mothers and fathers and grandparents and god forbid someday ourselves. I truly believe it all starts with our goverrnment. Let's face it, they are the ones who came up with the formulas for staff patient ratios. The facilities are just following these guidelines. Everyday I see things that shouldn't happen due to lack of stafffing. Nurses, especially LPN"S {no disrespect to RN's} need to unite because we are the ones primarily employed in LTC. Make our State and Federal Agencies accountable for their policies and demand better care for our patients.

tlcprn2u · May 6, 2006

I agree there needs to be an expose' on the nursing shortage and critical staffing. I don't believe Oprah is the one to do it.....
I have been doing this for 16 years and things have not changed much except that eveyday they want us to do more and the patients get less. We need to start protecting our mothers and fathers and grandparents and god forbid someday ourselves. I truly believe it all starts with our goverrnment. Let's face it, they are the ones who came up with the formulas for staff patient ratios. The facilities are just following these guidelines......

I beg to disagree with some of your statements, my very dear savanah, though I feel your pain when you describe your turmoil!

1. I do not think that Oprah is not Prime time enough! She would not have gotten to where she is today were it not that so many people watch her show. She just did an exposé on the public school system that should have raised everybody's concern for where our children are going to end up: almost illiterate, reading way below the grade level and without the tools to defend themselves in this high-information society. All because of choices made by other than parents and educators!!

But , if you have connections to Prime Time, 20/20 or any other show, I say: contact them and let us have the website so we can do it too! The more journalists that hear about what is happening to the frail, most at risk population, the higher the chances that one of them will be interested in taking this monster on.

2. The government just set minimum standards, like all laws. The facilities have the ability and the choice to improve upon those standards but choose not do so because the decision has been made that it is more important to provide higher revenues for the share holders and Board of Directors than it is to give good care to the patients (or residents in LTC).

That is why at the Nurse Alliance of SEIU we have launched a campaign to hold healthcare organizations accountable for the choices they make that drive nurses away from the bedside. Read about it, the research that supports the solutions and participate in the conversation at:

www.valuecarevaluenurses.org.

All journeys begin with the first step(whoever said that). Are we willing to take it?

Our patients and our profession deserve nothing less!

jrlpn · May 6, 2006

I agree Oprah would not see us as important, I've tried to write to her on a couple occasions and was never considered as a important human being with a voice........... so Not feeling very positive..Opra only views very sad, sad, sad situations, and nursing problems or views are not important to her. God bless. jclpn:nurse:

tlcprn2u · May 6, 2006

I agree Oprah would see us as important, I've tried to write to her on a couple occasions and was never considered as a important human being with a voice........... so Not feeling very positive..Opra only views very sad, sad, sad situations, and nursing problems or views are important to her. God bless. jclpn:nurse:

So, did you write to her about another Nurses Week coming up and why we need to address the serious crisis in healthcare that is gripping this nation?

sunnyjohn · May 6, 2006

Let's cut them some slack.

Oprah and shows like that get thousands of e-mails a week suggesting show topics. Quite frankly any such show that stays on the air long enough eventually does on about nurses. We've all seen the one-sided shoddy reporting.

The goal is to get on of these hosts to do the show from the nursing perspective. If the general public knew that the nurse was their biggest advocate when it came to heathcare issues, they would be more interested in what we had to say.

A FOCUSED write-in campaign designed to get a few of these shows (Dateline, Primetime, Oprah, 20/20, etc) to do a show on nurses at the same time would be best. Saturate the market, change the message and DOMINATE the dialogue through the media.

karenpj · May 6, 2006

Let's cut them some slack.
Oprah and shows like that get thousands of e-mails a week suggesting show topics. Quite frankly any such show that stays on the air long enough eventually does on about nurses. We've all seen the one-sided shoddy reporting.
The goal is to get on of these hosts to do the show from the nursing perspective. If the general public knew that the nurse was their biggest advocate when it came to heathcare issues, they would be more interested in what we had to say.
A FOCUSED write-in campaign designed to get a few of these shows (Dateline, Primetime, Oprah, 20/20, etc) to do a show on nurses at the same time would be best. Saturate the market, change the message and DOMINATE the dialogue through the media.

I think we have a good start. We do not have to stop with Oprah. As it has been said before, " the squecky wheel gets the grease." I think you all know one voice alone does not accomplish much, but we have many voices and need to be persistent.

tlcprn2u · May 7, 2006

I think we have a good start. We do not have to stop with Oprah. As it has been said before, " the squecky wheel gets the grease." I think you all know one voice alone does not accomplish much, but we have many voices and need to be persistent.

Well said! To quote some of my favorite nurses: Marietta and Juanita from Miami: "My voice alone is just a whisper but with all of our voices together it will become a roar".

karenpj · May 8, 2006

Let's cut them some slack.

Originally Posted by sunnyjohn

Let's cut them some slack.

Oprah and shows like that get thousands of e-mails a week suggesting show topics. Quite frankly any such show that stays on the air long enough eventually does on about nurses. We've all seen the one-sided shoddy reporting.

The goal is to get on of these hosts to do the show from the nursing perspective. If the general public knew that the nurse was their biggest advocate when it came to heathcare issues, they would be more interested in what we had to say.

A FOCUSED write-in campaign designed to get a few of these shows (Dateline, Primetime, Oprah, 20/20, etc) to do a show on nurses at the same time would be best. Saturate the market, change the message and DOMINATE the dialogue through the media.

I have done some research on different email address's and websites. I have started emailing them.

ABC: for Good Morning America

www.abc.go.com

20/20 20/[email protected]

Today Show on NBC

[email protected]

CBS

60 minuites

[email protected]

48 Hours

[email protected]

I hope these will help. Does anyone else know some other emails of contacts.

Karenpj:balloons:

Rnandsoccermom · May 8, 2006

Just a guess, but I think the reason that no one touches nursing issues with a ten foot pole on national television is the AHA and AMA.

They are the big guns in the medical world with lots of $$$$$ and lobbyists.

The ANA has never been able to compete-mostly because they leave US out of it.

Oprah had her problems with the National Cattle assoc. she is not going to mess with the AHA, she has too many MD's etc... as friends plugging her shows.

Just my humble opinion.

meownsmile, BSN, RN · May 8, 2006

I wonder,, with 140,000 members of this site, not ONE person has family or personal contacts with ANY news organization? Not ONE local network affiliate? These stories usually arent picked up by big networks until the little guys pick it up and do local first. AP wires pick up and connect to every newspaper in the country. Some local stories are picked up by AP after printing in local markets and move into national markets from there.

Maybe the focus is to big to fast. Maybe a concentrated effort needs to be made on a more local and regional level first.

And by the way the Oprah story on our CRISIS in schools wouldnt have been done either had Bill G not stepped up and made some rukus first. If its good enough for Bill to complain about it must be worth jumping on the bandwagon for right? That was NO epiphany they had, one day waking up and coming to the realization the schools in this country are in shambles. Many parents have been complaining for years just to have it fall on deaf ears. School systems from the state level down dont want to hear it, dont want the parents in the classroom (except on party day).

If they really wanted to make a impact, why didnt they go march down to our state capitals and find out where all the lottery money that was supposed to go to school funding over the last 20 years actually goes. Not the schools Oprah.

Sorry didnt mean to highjack the thread, that particular show just really toasted me.