Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/198597
TOC:2 7/9/07 1:22 PM Page 2 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT what a crazy, tiring, exciting, fun, and utterly inspiring month it has been. All the work we have been doing to rally around the opening of Michael Moore's movie SiCKO and using it to catapult the message of establishing truly universal, guaranteed healthcare on the single-payer model seems to be paying off. Turnout to opening night events by RNs and the public was absolutely phenomenal; many shows around the country were sold out. And most importantly, audiences are saying they are going to recommend that their friends and family see the movie and to get actively involved in turning around this healthcare mess. Go see the movie right away or you'll really be missing out on the biggest thing to hit healthcare since penicillin! For full coverage of what we've been doing, take a look inside this issue. It all started with a huge June 12 rally in Sacramento, where I testified alongside Michael Moore before the California Legislature and we saw the first sneak preview of the film. Then we staged a media blitz of the East Coast in our SiCKO bus. That's six cities in five days—oy! Then opening nights all over the country where nurse members passed out flyers and engaged moviegoers in discussion about the problems and issues raised in the movie. I've seen the movie so many times now that I practically know all the words; some of the board members and I were joking that we should start shouting running commentary at the screen just like audiences do at that cult classic, the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Before SiCKO mania started, I had a chance to participate in a panel at an international convention of nurses hosted by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. Though countries such as Canada and Australia have national healthcare, they REGISTERED NURSE,™ (ISSN 1932-8966) The Journal of Patient Advocacy, June 2007 Volume 103/5 is published by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. It provides news of organizational activities and reports on developments of concern to all registered nurses across the nation. It also carries general coverage and commentary on matters of nursing practice, community and public health, and healthcare policy. It is published monthly except for combined issues in January and February, and July and August. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Registered Nurse, 2000 ™ Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. To send a media release or announcement, fax (510) 6630629. Registered Nurse™ is carried on the CNA/NNOC website at www.calnurses.org. are under assault by private healthcare corporations that want to privatize parts of the system and create multiple tiers of care for citizens. More care if you are wealthy enough to pay for it. Less care if you aren't It was an eye-opening exchange. We learned from nurses who enjoyed working under single-payer systems, and they learned from us how we waged our campaigns for safe staffing ratios—something they've needed and wanted for decades. Also in this issue is a story about what's happening in New Orleans, almost two years later. We convened a panel of local RNs to discuss what they've been observing. Their report? A total lack of mental health services, not nearly enough hospital beds, people still living in trailers, and a city far from providing even the most basic levels of care to its citizens. On top of all that, nurses and other healthcare providers are themselves struggling with the emotional, physical, and mental wear and tear that comes from treating the New Orleans population, day in and day out. The experiences of these nurses and the stories of patients in SiCKO bring home how urgently the United States needs a guaranteed system of healthcare for all its residents. The tragic shootings at Virginia Tech earlier this year were yet another example of how comprehensive national healthcare, including full mental health services, could have prevented needless suffering. Looking around, I don't see how many of us can survive much longer. Please take a stand and help. If we stick together, we can make it happen. See you at the movies. For permission to reprint articles, write to Editorial Office. To subscribe, send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription Department. California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee also produces California Nurse, which it will ™ continue to publish periodically. PLEASE CONTACT US WITH YOUR STORY IDEAS They can be about practice or management trends you've observed, or simply something new you've encountered in the profession. They can be about one nurse, unit, or hospital, or about the wider landscape of healthcare policy from an RN's perspective. They can humorous, or a matter of life and death. If you're a writer and would like to contribute an article, please let us know. Our contact information is in the masthead. executive editor Rose Ann DeMoro editor Lucia Hwang graphic design Jonathan Wieder communications director Charles Idelson contributors Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD photography Jaclyn Higgs, Tad Keyes editorial intern Bonnie Ho