National Nurses United

NewsBriefs:2 9/2/09 4:25 PM Page 5 reuse masks in violation of Centers for Disease Control guidelines. At more than a quarter of the hospitals, swine flu patients are not adequately isolated. About a third of the hospitals are not following proper infection control procedures. RNs at only 35 percent of the facilities said they are guaranteed adequate sick leave if they become ill why caring for patients and instead penalize them for staying at home while infectious. "Hospitals across the entire country are putting registered nurses and other frontline caregivers at risk by inadequately preparing for this pandemic," said CNA/NNOC co-president Deborah Burger, RN. "If hospitals do not take urgent precautions to reverse this lack of preparation, we may see our healthcare facilities become vectors for infections. That is especially worrisome for hospital patients who already have compromised immune systems, and our nurses who may be unable to respond because of their own sickness." In mid-August, CNA/NNOC formulated and adopted a position statement about the role of registered nurses and the swine flu pandemic. It emphasizes the registered nurse's pivotal role as a frontline caregiver and in protecting public health. The statement also provides a list of precautions that RNs in acute-care settings should insist their hospitals adopt, such as following CDC, OSHA, and state public health department infection control and disaster preparedness guidelines; staffing up; and monitoring, noticing, and tracking of all unprotected exposures, among other things. To read the entire paper, visit the links provided with this article. Meanwhile, CNA/NNOC in California is lobbying at the legislative level to extend presumptive eligibility for workers' compensation benefits to registered nurses who contract H1N1. RNs are also pushing employers to protect the pay, seniority, and other rights of nurses and healthcare workers who may miss work from swine flu, and to adopt sick leave policies that don't encourage infected RNs to go to work. In July, Tenet Healthcare RNs in Florida and California protested the chain's recent decision to cut employees' access to extended sick leave. Thousands of RNs at more than 50 CNA/ NNOC hospitals also joined in actions in late August to demand that their employers adopt and implement proper infection control measures. And RNs also participated in an online seminar about swine flu where they had the opportunity to learn CNA/NNOC's stance and ask questions. —staff report J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 0 9 CNA/NNOC Holds National Convention in September W hat a difference two years make. This September, as CNA/ NNOC holds its 2009 House of Delegates convention in San Francisco under the theme "A New Foundation: Building the RN Super Union," it will showcase the huge leaps and strides it has made toward creating a na tional movement of registered nurses, as well as share ideas and make plans for how to build on its successes over the upcoming years. Since CNA/NNOC held its last convention in 2007, the organization has achieved some major milestones. Several nursing W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G organizations operating in other states, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, have already joined or plan to join forces with CNA/ NNOC, making the total membership of this new "super union" close to 150,000 RNs. CNA/NNOC also successfully unionized registered nurses in Texas and Nevada, broadening the scope of its representation. It is poised, after a historic agreement with the Service Employees International Union this year, to organize more RNs and become the country's go-to union for registered nurses. And CNA/NNOC RNs have stood front and center in the national healthcare reform debate as relentless advocates of universal, single-payer healthcare. The 2009 convention will focus on how a unified, national movement of registered nurses can "solve big problems with big solutions": protecting pa tients and the profession during the worst recession of our lifetime, championing real healthcare reform, lifting the voice and profile of registered nurses, and ensuring that the flood of new technologies in healthcare enhances, not degrades, RN skills and clinical judgment. The plenary talks and continuing education courses offered at the convention will address these topics. The convention is also a time for CNA/ NNOC to honor RNs who've made outstanding contributions as nurse leaders and members of the public who have fought for the same goals as nurses. And, as always, it is a time for attendees to network with other RNs, share stories and experiences, and recharge their batteries in the continuous struggle of advocating for patients. —staff report REGISTERED NURSE 5

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