Oregon RNs testify on safe patient care

Nurses from United Nurses of Legacy and the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals/AFT Healthcare NW came to the state capital of Salem in April to testify before lawmak-ers on the need for safe staffing legislation.

The nurses have been working with state lawmakers to introduce the Safe Staffing Act (H.B. 3416), which mandates a maximum number of patients that can be assigned to an individual reg-istered nurse and establishes measures to ensure public access to this critical information.

Patient safety is the number one concern for RNs, especially if they are assigned too many patients to care for at a time. "When we don't have enough staffing, there are mistakes and unsafe conditions," says Linda Boly, an RN at Legacy Good Samaritan in Portland. "We face this daily all over the hospital."

Donell Owens, an RN at Kaiser Sunnyside in Clackamas, Ore., agrees. "If you are tied up and dealing with alarms, you could easily miss someone having a crisis down at the end of the hall. You can't be five places at one time and when you are responsible for too many patients you are looking at a dangerous situation."

United Nurses of Legacy members have raised serious concerns about understaffing in their facilities, and are currently organizing a union to give them a stronger voice in enforcing nurse-patient ratios once this bill becomes law.

"Introducing H.B. 3416 is a great moment and the beginning of something that is so wonderful for the nursing profession and patients," says Kathy Geroux, RN and president of OFNHP/AFT Healthcare NW. "For the sake of patients, there needs to be enough nurses to ensure quality care. H.B. 3416 would make that happen."

National nurse advocates return to Capitol Hill

Teri Mills and Alisa Schneider, nurse educators and members of the Portland Community College Faculty Federation, launched a nationwide movement to establish an Office of the National Nurse two years ago and are now continuing their push. The two, along with several other members of the National Nurse Team, returned to Washington, D.C., in March to educate members of Congress and others about the importance of having an Office of the National Nurse.

Hoping to get the National Nurse Act reintroduced, the team met with Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and delivered packets of information to 39 congressional offices and met with 13 members of the Health Subcommittee. In addition, Mills and Schneider met with chief of staff to the Surgeon General, Robert Williams.

Mills and Schneider began their campaign in May 2005. Mills made her case for the position in a New York Times op-ed titled "America's Nurse." Since that time, the two formed the National Nursing Network Organization and created a Web site, www.nationalnurse.org .

Effort to close state hospitals challenged

The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) filed a lawsuit in March in state Supreme Court challenging the recommendations of the New York State Commission on the Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, commonly referred to as the Berger Commission.

In its final report, released last November, the Berger Commission included a recommendation that would privatize SUNY Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse by merging it with Crouse Hospital, also in Syracuse.

"This lawsuit challenges the legality of the recommendation," PEF president Ken Brynien says. "The Berger Commission recommendation is a violation of the New York State Constitution. Decisions to close or merge hospitals should not be made by a commission that is unaccountable to the public and appointed by an outgoing governor."

Brynien, who is also an AFT vice president, noted that while he expects to continue to work with the Spitzer administration in an attempt to correct the ill-advised recommendation, PEF is preserving its legal options.

In other news, the unions involved in the potential privatization of SUNY Upstate Hospital have launched an online campaign to block the governor's move to merge the hospital. Visit www.saveupstate.com to learn more.