UPDATE: Governor Rendell signed legislation expanding Midwives, CNS & NP practice

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 11, 2007

was very pleased to be in the audience as governor rendell spoke about his:

pennsylvania health care reform act: rx for pa

this plan proposes broad changes positively impacting nursing and healthcare professions in pa including

nurse midwifes and crna's having prescriptive powers in area specialization

1. nurses will be able to provide all of the services for which they are trained and educated.

2. patients will have better access to care through authorized nurse managed care centers.

3.the availability of core primary care options will be expanded to reduce unnecessary expenses caused by overuse of the emergency room for basic treatment.

4. new opportunities for nurses and nurse educators will be created through the pa center for health careers.

5. clear legal definitions of clinical nurse specialists will be established to better protect both patients and nurses.

6. nurse midwives will be authorized to prescribe drugs associated with obstetrical and gynecological practices, as well as be reimbursed directly by health insurers for services provided.

7. advanced practice nurses and other non-physician health care providers will be reimbursed at the same rate as other health care providers when they provide the same services.

8. the state will provide start up funding and logistical support for authorized nurse managed health care facilities and ensure that these facilities are included in provider networks as primary care providers.

read the governor's plan

powerpoint: [color=#d59f0f]governor's rendell's prescription for pennsylvania presentation

main focus:

[color=#173f6e]rx for affordability

for 767,000 uninsured pennsylvania adults, prescription for pennsylvania means having the confidence that a sudden illness will not lead to unnecessary personal suffering and bankruptcy.

[color=#d59f0f]learn more...

[color=#173f6e]rx for access

not all pennsylvanians have access to primary care providers and services.

[color=#d59f0f]learn more...

[color=#173f6e]rx for quality

improving quality goes hand-in-hand with bringing costs under control for businesses and families struggling to pay their own health care premiums.

[color=#d59f0f]learn more...

support:

house bill 700 legislation

use this easy link from pa nurses to send letter to your pa legislator:

support hb 700!!!

please contact your state representative/senator and urge them to support governor rendell's "prescription for pennsylvania."

ez letter : take action

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 11, 2007

psna kicks off nurses week with governor rendell and pennsylvania's chief nursing officers

the association and the governor strive to improve patient health care through rx for pa

harrisburg, pa – the pennsylvania nurses association (psna) kicked off nurses week with governor edward g. rendell and chief nursing officers from across the commonwealth, as they came together to discuss support for governor rendell’s “prescription for pennsylvania.”

psna held a meeting at the capitol with the governor and chief nursing officers to speak about governor rendell’s health care reform. the meeting was followed by a press conference, in which both the governor and psna executive director betsy m. snook, m.ed, bsn, rn, addressed the media about the importance of supporting this vital health care reform.

“i am proud to be standing here, on the first day of national nurses week, with these representatives of pennsylvania’s nursing profession to recognize the key role they play in providing quality health care to people across the commonwealth,” governor rendell said. “we have an opportunity today not only to thank them for their great contributions, but to highlight the role they would play in expanding access to quality health care for all pennsylvanians under my ‘prescription for pennsylvania’ health care reform plan.”

snook added, “this is a milestone moment and opportunity for pennsylvania to lead the nation in providing our citizens access to the best primary and preventive health care services they need and deserve. the pennsylvania state nurses association is calling upon everyone to get involved and demand reform now.”

the governor and snook were also joined by state rep. mike sturla (d-lancaster), chair of the state house committee on professional licensure. rep. sturla announced the introduction of a package of seven bills that will implement the “scope of practice” provisions of prescription for pennsylvania.....

further info http://www.panurses.org/new/

psna rx for pa

***

[color=#0066b9]sturla announces public hearings for scope of practice legislation

harrisburg, may 7 – at a capitol news conference today with gov. ed rendell to kick of national nurses week, state rep. mike sturla, d-lancaster, announced that the house professional licensure committee will hold public hearings throughout the state to collect input on legislation that would expand the scope of practice for certain allied health professionals.

“with governor rendell’s health care plan proposing scope expansions in various professions, it is imperative that the house professional licensure committee hold public hearings on them,” sturla said. “as chairman of the committee, i look forward to informative hearings that will help us craft the most effective legislation to ensure more pennsylvanians receive quality health care.”

according to sturla, the committee’s hearing schedule is as follows:

when where scope of practice

may 16 at 1 p.m. university of pittsburgh, pittsburgh pharmacists

may 17 at 9 a.m. university of pittsburgh, pittsburgh physician assistants

may 24 at 10:30 a.m. g-50 irvis office building, harrisburg nurses

may 30 at 1 p.m. drexel university, philadelphia dental hygienists

may 31 at 10 a.m. drexel university, philadelphia nurse midwives

the legislative package, which will be formally introduced later this week, and their sponsors are:

h.b. 1250 - pharmacists - rep. deberah kula, d-fayette/westmoreland

h.b. 1251 (med) & h.b. 1252 (osteo) - physician assistants - rep. harry readshaw, d-allegheny

h.b. 1253 - certified registered nurse practitioners - rep. tim solobay, d-washington

h.b. 1254 - clinical nurse specialists - rep. jaret gibbons, d-lawrence/beaver/butler

h.b. 1255 - nurse midwives - rep. ron waters,d-philadelphia/delaware

h.b. 1256 - nurse anesthetists - rep. marc gergely,d-allegheny

h.b. 1257 - dental hygienists - rep. eddie day pashinski, d-luzerne

the nurses hearing on may 24 will focus on h.b. 1253 and h.b. 1254.

the house professional licensure committee handles licensing matters for more than 767,000 pennsylvanians working in a variety of occupations and professions, including doctors, dentists, nurses, engineers, barbers, funeral directors, cosmetologists and realtors.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 11, 2007

Hey Oramar and other concerned PA nurses:

Buses are being provided to bring nurses to Harrisburg for May 24th hearing. PM me for details.

HELP bring PA NURSING into the 2ist Century permitting RN'S to provide all of the services for which we are trained to perform.

There are 200,000 RN's in PA... if we raises our voices high we are a force to be reckon with ---will probably overwhelm legislators too per da Governor.

Editorial Team / Admin · May 11, 2007

Excellent proposals, Karen. Thank you for breaking this down for us.

I was not aware that CNM did not have RX privileges in PA.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 11, 2007

The legislation will:

define the appropriate scope of practice for primary care providers, certified registered nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, pharmacists, dental hygienists and independent dental hygiene practitioners based on their education and training in order to support the best, most effective and efficient use of all health care providers;

permit licensed health care providers at all levels to practice as independently as possible;

prohibit insurers from excluding an entire class of licensed health care providers from a provider network; and

require insurers to credential individual licensed health care providers based on the person’s clinical experience, education and licensure status.

The Administration will also seek to improve access to services from all levels of licensed health care providers in state-funded programs by:

requiring all such programs to use, where appropriate and cost-effective, advanced practice nurses, including clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified registered nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, physician assistants and dental hygienists, in all provider networks; and

supporting and encouraging the use of chronic care teams, rapid response medical teams (who provide early detection of changes in patients’ conditions and respond rapidly to avoid life-threatening conditions) and other evidence based disease management teams through the reimbursement structure.

pawashrn · May 14, 2007

As a Nurse. Gov. Rendell voted for making RN's acquire 30CEU annually. If you want to help lower the cost of healthcare, stop giving free healthcare to alcoholics and junkies and stop trying to save everyone. There are certain instances when a person should be able to die with dignity.

Liver transplants on alcoholics?

By the way, if you want to control healthcare. Vote Republican

nancykday · May 20, 2007

It is time that gov Rendell shows his support for all PA healthcare workers and signs an executive order that make it illegal for healthcare institutions to utilize mandatory OVERTIME.

oramar · May 30, 2007

I was watching hearings on PCN last evening on above. Hope they act soon.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 30, 2007

i attended the rally last thursday supporting hb 700, over 500 persons in attendance:

governor and advocates rally for prescription for pa

may 23, 2007: pa: bill banning mandatory overtime passed by house; onto pa senate

pa nurses association testifies before house professional licensure committee in support of title recognition for clinical nurse specialists read more

please contact your legislators to keep these bills moving forward.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 31, 2007

watch video of pa nurses assoc president patrick e. kenny interview on comcast newsmakers (video) discussing these proposed laws.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 20, 2007

pa state nurses association helps win fight for advance practice nurses and healthcare reform in pennsylvania

the pennsylvania state nurses association (psna) is pleased to announce that all three nursing bills from governor edward rendell's "prescription for pa" initiative passed unanimously in the senate on saturday, july 14, 2007. hb 1253 (scope of practice-crnps,) hb 1254 (title recognition-cnss) and hb 1255 (prescriptive authority-nurse midwives) currently await governor rendell's signature so that they can become law. governor rendell plans to bring these bills into fruition by signing them at the University of Pennsylvania in philadelphia later this week. read more

governor rendell's public schedule

july 20, 2007

9:30 a.m. healthcare acquired infection and scope of practice bill signing

penn school of nursing

carol ware gates lobby

claire m. fagin hall

418 curie blvd.

philadelphia

:yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

thanks to all who took the time to contact legislators. knew this was a win_win for pa and nursing! my stopping at senator erickson's ofice helped get outpatient surgi-centers added to bill re healthcare aquired infections: needing to report and monitor infection rates. karen