Massachusetts Nurses: advocacy in ACTION

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele, Hem/Onc, BMT.

I have been catching up on the latest with the MNA staffing legislation. I am very proud of those nurses and the patients that have joined with them in their fight for safe staffing. :typing

In February the Patient Safety Act was approved by the Public Health Committee.

http://www.massnurses.org/News/2008/03/patient_safety_act.htm :up:

Recently, they have been airing commercials to highlight the importance of their bill: http://www.protectmasspatients.org/news/2008/tv_ad.htm

And they have set forth this challenge:

The MNA challenges the industry (MHA) to stand by its claims regarding H.1282 and to justify them. We invite any MHA or MONE representative who disagrees with our position to debate us in public on this issue. We are ready and willing to stage a televised debate on a local cable station in a community of the industry's choosing, and we'll go to any hospital, university or community center to openly debate an industry representative in front of any audience.

Bring it on! I would love to watch this debate! Wonder why the MNA is not taking them up on the challenge?

I think they are making progress! We need to keep our eye on them and learn from their advocacy and strategy!

There is a video to watch titled "MNA educational video on nurses and political action"

http://www.massnurses.org/safe_care/videopage.htm

:yeah:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

SAFE STAFFING SAVES LIVES!!! my latest favorite is "speed kills". I have met many RNs who have come from other states to work in California. They are happy to be here , but wish they could deliver safe care in their home state. All patients deserve safe and competent care. Nurses united can make that a reality.:yeah::yeah:

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Administration (briefly).

I have only recently looked at the MNA website-

Very impressive.

This is what the nursing associations should be doing, and should have been doing for the past 25 years.

Where were they?

Why, did it take the explosion of the CNA/NNOC movement to get the ANA to come out with a "safe staffing" initiative, vague as it is?

Who is going to take on the AONE?

I say bring on the debate. No AHA member, including the AONE, can justify the atrocious history of nurse staffing ratios.

It is simply unsafe for us to continue to allow the "industry" to set it's own rules and policies regarding nursing.:nono:

We need the national voice, and if we have to build it from scratch, so be it.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele, Hem/Onc, BMT.

Yes! Let's start building. The information about legislative action is so important. We need to bust the image that ANA is the authority on nursing (and most state nurses assoc too).

In Ohio, as we started to meet personally with legislators they were surprised to learn this. ONA claims to represent all of Ohio's nurses on their web site and ANA has the audacity to claim to represent 2.9 million! Even though their membership is 189,000 nurses.

This is why CNA broke away and eventually formed NNOC and professional association for DIRECT CARE NURSES.

Mass nurses are doing all right and seem to align very closely with CNA/NNOC.

I sure hope they pass their bill. Then safe staffing won't seem to be such a "California thing". It will help nurses across the nation.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

CONGRATULATIONS NURSES FROM MNA !!!!!! Mass. Staffing bill passed in the house! Nurses need to keep the pressure on to make sure it goes all the way!!!!:nurse::redbeathe:redbeathe

SAFE STAFFING SAVES LIVES!!!!:yeah::yeah::yeah:

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.

House Passes Landmark Bill on RN Staffing and Patient Safety in Massachusetts Hospitals

Measure Calls for Safe Limits on Nurses' Patient Assignments, Prohibits Mandatory Overtime, and Includes Initiatives to Increase Nursing Faculty & Nursing Scholarships...

http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-care-hospitals/20080522/NETH11022052008-1.html

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Administration (briefly).

California and now Massachusetts.

We got 'em surrounded.

Yeehaw:yeah:

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The other MNA (Minnesota) is pushing safe staffing also. North, east West all we need is south!

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Administration (briefly).
The other MNA (Minnesota) is pushing safe staffing also. North, east West all we need is south!

Don't wait for the south, we're always late for the party.

:coollook:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

our brothers and sisters in the big state of Texas have arrived to the party!! we would love to have you also. What a great day that will be!:yeah:

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Administration (briefly).
our brothers and sisters in the big state of Texas have arrived to the party!! we would love to have you also. What a great day that will be!:yeah:

We sure need it.

I'm not holding my breath though:imbar

As usual, we'll wait until the other 49 states do it and then take another 3 years to join:rolleyes:

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One of the things people need to be aware of is that not all "safe staffing" legislation is created equal. It's a lot like the debate on "universal healthcare". When I talk about univeral care I mean a program that provides everyone with real access to care from a single program. Other people have co-opted the term to mean "requiring everyone to buy private insurance"

The healthcare industry, with the help of the ANA and some of the state associations, has tried to push "safe staffing" legislation that does things like requires hospitals to have acuity systems and requires them to issue reports on what their staffing levels are, but don't set any real minimum levels. California had law like that for years and the hospitals always managed to game the system to staff by the budget. That's why we were forced to pass the ratio law.

Always remember the devil is in the details. And wherever there is an effort to pass a real ratio law, the industry always comes up with one of these fake plans to oppose it. The Mass nurses are pushing the real thing, so the industry has come up with a fake. Same in Texas, same in Ohio.

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