Urgent Nursing Legislative Push

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

info sent from psna listserve 12/01/01. karen

immediate action needed to pass federal nursing shortage legislation

the first session of the 107th congress is about to adjourn, and ana needs psna members to convince their congressional delegation that they can not leave town without passing nursing shortage legislation. ana has worked throughout the year to galvanize support for the nurse reinvestment act and the nursing employment and education development act, and need your help in these last weeks to make the final push to enact this nursing recruitment legislation.

ana has urged psna to activate our grass roots efforts and help generate as many faxes, e-mails and calls as possible to congress. do not delay, congress is expected to adjourn on december.

ana has urged psna to activate our grass roots efforts and help generate as many faxes, e-mails and calls as possible to congress. do not delay, congress is expected to adjourn on december 14. call the capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your delegation members by name.

message to congress:

america's nurses need you to act now to support nursing education and to attract more people into the nursing profession. both the nurse reinvestment act (s. 1597, h.r. 1436) and the nursing employment and education development act (s. 721) would provide needed assistance. the nursing shortage is already impacting the quality of patient care in pennsylvania and man hospitals and healthcare facilities can not fill nurse vaccancies. projections show that this shortage will only worsen. i urge you to pass legislation supporting nursing recruitment this year.

background & talking points:

both the nurse reinvestment act (s. 1597, h.r. 1436), and the nursing employment and education development act (s. 721) would authorize federal funding for scholarships and loan repayments for nursing students who agree to work in shortage areas after they graduate, nursing faculty development, career ladder programs, public service announcements to promote nursing as a career, and support for the development of nursing curriculum.

the emerging nursing shortage is very real and very different from any experienced in the past. health care providers across the nation are having difficulty finding nurses who are willing to work in their facilities. press reports about emergency department diversions and the cancellation of elective surgeries due to short staffing are becoming commonplace.

the lack of young people entering the nursing profession has resulted in a dramatic increase in the age of working nurses. many rns providing direct patient care are planning to leave the profession in the next few years. projections show that the number of rns per capita will fall 20% below requirements by the year 2020.

efforts to enhance response capacity for biological and chemical warfare will place even greater strains on america' s nurses -the largest healthcare workforce in the nation.

congress must act now to pass legislation supporting nursing recruitment. these bills have broad bipartisan support in congress, as well as support from the bush administration.

federal nursing shortage legislation information

nursing education

the u.s. senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions adopted an amended nursing employment and education development act that combines elements of the original language with nursing bills heralded on november 6 by sens. hillary rodham cinton, d-ny, and joseph lieberman, d-ct. the amended s. 721 would authorize over six years $85 million for a nursing corps loan repayment program, $60 million for hospitals to develop and evaluate models and best practices for retaining nurses, and $85 million for a student loan fund to fast-track nursing faculty development. other provisions include funding for multimedia nurse recruitment campaigns, community outreach programs to recruit and retain nurses, and career ladder programs. the measure next moves to the senate floor. psna worked with sen. lieberman's office to provide background information prior to the introduction of this legislation.

mandatory overtime

the safe nursing and patient care act of 2001, was introduced in early november by rep. pete stark (d-ca) and rep. steven latourette (r-oh) with more than 20 u.s. house of representatives colleagues that would strictly limit the use of mandatory overtime for nurses. sens. edward kennedy (d-ma) and john kerry (d-ma) will introduce companion legislation in the senate.

for more information and talking points...

http://www.psna.org/hotissues/fedrnshort.htm

see jt's post same subject with allnurses links:

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&goto=lastpost&threadid=12207

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easy locator for federal,state and local officials:

http://www.governmentguide.com/main.adp

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public health top priority for homeland security

public health has high priority in new anti-terror spending request tom ridge, director of homeland security, said the public health system is one of his highest priorities, and that he will ask for substantially increased spending in president bush's

next budget. he said the public health system needs facility upgrades and improvements, financing for more laboratories, and more epidemiologist training. he said washington should ensure that every region in the country had a minimum capacity to handle

bioterrorism. without giving specifics or dollar amounts he will be seeking, ridge told the new york times the figure will be in the billions. he said he can also envision a system in which the states get federal funds to upgrade local public health care

facilities, but also have some spending flexibility.

[oramar]

Thanks