Please Tell Us If You Are Contacting Legislators/ANA, etc. Re: Nursing Concerns

mike moeslein · May 23, 1999

Hi Barton,

I don't want to e-mail you from work but I will from home. I'd like to join you in your work. You will hear from me soon.

Mike

barton · Jul 18, 1999

Hi All!

I haven't posted for a while, but I haven't forgotten you! Along with the previous poster, Mike, and several other nurses I've met on-line, we have been very busy!

We now have our own column in the E-ZINE at hospitalhub.com, and are known as the CONCERNED NURSES GROUP (CNG)! Please read our MISSION STATEMENT there, AND SUBSCRIBE!

We are NOT another Nursing Bulletin Board!

We are GOAL ORIENTED ADVOCATES FOR PATIENTS AND NURSES, and are working toward SOLUTIONS!

AND:

I INVITE YOU TO JOIN US FOR A PUBLIC CHAT

TUESDAY, JULY 20, 1999

AT 6:00 PM (ET)

Please join us!

Rita Barton,RN

FOUNDER, CNG

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TLP64 · Jul 20, 1999

I have not contacted them at this time but feel we as a nursing society need to stand up to the plate with legislation to protect our patients right to have adequte staffing. What are the guidelines used to promote adequate staffing in your units.

mirn · Jul 23, 1999

Hello, all. I have been following for a while now and just wanted to say I really respect what is going on here. I have contacted my state rep and plan to contact Sylvia Johnson this week. I just want to take better care of my patients!!!! Let me know what else I can do, please!!!

Keep the faith!

MIRN (Michigan RN)

barton · Jul 25, 1999

TLP64 and mirn:

Several of the nurses who have been conversing on different nursing web sites, especially about understaffing, have banded together, and are now writing a column at hospitalhub.com. I am the founder, and we are known as the Concerned Nurses Group. Our first article is our Mission Statement, and is in the July issue of hospitalhub.com E-Zine. Please read it, and if you think that you would be interested in joining our efforts, please contact me. We want better care for patients! Thanks! Barton

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barton · Oct 7, 1999

NOTICE TO ALL NURSES:

I HAVE NOT forgotten you!

Please see my post (above)-----The Concerned Nurses Group (CNG) is going strong! Please see our July, August, September, and October articles.

ALSO:

PLEASE JOIN US AT THE HOSPITALHUB PUBLIC CHAT!

---------------------------

October 7, 1999 at 9PM EST

--------------------------- http://www.hospitalhub.com/chat.html

Can't we all make time for this? We're trying to improve patient care and nursing, right?!?! Hope to meet ALL of you in chat!

Barton

ForMoe · Nov 24, 1999

RED ALERT---Call/E-mail everyone!!!

ABC 20/20 story is on for Nov 26th

as told to me by Silvia Johnson herself

Pass it on

Read this from Silvia;

Thanks. I hope a lot of people will see the story. The AHA president is

already doing damage control -- interestingly, not by alleging that our

story is wrong. That would be a stretch, given the number of nurses I've

heard from.

Best,

Sylvia Johnson

ABC 20/20

barton · Nov 24, 1999

Whoo Hoo!

Everyone set their alarms and their VCR's!

I wouldn't dream of missing this show!

Thank you to ForMoe!

barton

NCNocRN · Nov 26, 1999

Thank you, Barton, for all you have done to improve working conditions for nurses and exposing critical patient safety issues. The "bottom line" approach to health care has resulted in alarmingly dangerous practice situations and interference with the nurse-patient relationship. By your persistent "shining the light," we can all hope that genuine change can be effected. Our patients will be the ultimate winners!

barton · Nov 26, 1999

Joy,

Thank you for your kind and supportive words. However, I can not take full credit for what is happening. Apparently, as I've heard through the grapevine, a lot of nurses have contacted Sylvia Johnson, at ABC's 20/20, over many months time.

A little bird told me that some of that help has come from the Concerned Nurses Group at www.hospitalhub.com

Barton,

Founder, CNG

Concerned Nurses Group at www.hospitalhub.com

PS to Joy and All---- Whether you like the story or not, please write to Sylvia after the show airs, with your opinions. If they receive a "flood" of letters, perhaps we can KEEP nursing in the spotlight and improve patient care.

rn2468 · Nov 29, 1999

Did anyone read that Clinton will be signing a bill that will fund rural and urban hospitals to bring overseas nurses here to "help" with the nsg shortage? If they have money to help, why not use it to help the nurses who are already here??? The bill was started by Rep Bobby Rush because an Illinois hospital claimed to have spent $2 million last year on contract nurses "at about $55/hr".

As an agency/contract RN I have seen many staff and administrators point their fingers at agency/contract as to why so much is spent on nsg. I've also seen experienced agency nurse cancelled so inexperienced staff nurses can be used in our place. The admin. have pull adult CCU RN's and newborn nursery LVNs to pedi and NICU in a heartbeat, even though said nurse has never worked the unit before. Pretty scary having to give report to som eof these nurses or getting report from them. One CCU nurse told me she pumped a teen girl full of MS and Demerol BEFORE bothering to check the pending pregnancy test results. The newborn nursery LVN couldn't even read our MAR and missed a NICU med. The pt took a turn for the worse while under her care and had to be reassigned to another nurse. Sure they save money, but it is the pt who suffers. While they were quoting how much was spent on the hourly rate for contract , they don't bother to say how much they have paid their administrators, etc...

Personally, I think all nurses should go contract/agency...better pay/work conditions/flexability.

OH, by the way, ANA spokeperson said ANA had no problem with the foriegn nurse bill, saying that it will not help the hospitals attract qualified nurses. And what re: the nurses already HERE that will be displaced by the foriegn nurse bill??? The bill also says that hospitals must pay the nurses "prevailing wages". I take that to mean they will have to take the lousy pay that the rest of us won't put up with??

mn nurse · Nov 29, 1999

As I posted under another thread, I'm a little late getting on the bandwagon, but have copied all of the postings on this thread and plan to contact my state and federal elected officials, the ANA, the MNA, and the MN State board of nursing. Is there anything else that I can do?