National Nurses United

NewsBriefs WRAP-UP REPORT Bylaws Notification Missouri RNs and NNOC supporters Rachel Moehlmann (left) and Jane Montgomery at a single-payer event. Illinois members of the Illinois House Health Care and Availability Access Committee ultimately found the arguments of NNOC RNs more compelling than the objections of the Illinois Hospital Association and the Illinois Nurses Association, voting 8-3 in March to move forward with a CNA/NNOC-sponsored staffing ratio bill. The legislation, HB 392, would establish ratios and strengthen patient advocacy language, and now moves to a vote by the entire House. More than 100 staff RNs packed the hearing before the vote to lend support. "When we went to meet with the legislators, it was obvious the industry and the INA were working together and had already been there," said DeAnn McEwen, a Long Beach Memorial Medical Center ICU RN who testified at the hearing. "I think what convinced them was nurses talking from their heart about how, without mandatory staffing levels, they had to pick and choose which patients to attend to, how they weren't able to do their best." The next battle will be to pass a version of the same bill, SB 605, through the Illinois Senate. Maine nnoc members in Maine lobbied their legislature on March 1 in support of the LD 1538, also called the "Act to Increase Safety of Hospital Patients," a CNA/ NNOC-sponsored bill that would set min- 8 REGISTERED NURSE imum RN-patient staffing ratios. RNs spoke with legislators about how chronic short staffing is unacceptable because it puts patients in danger. Current hospital staffing plans look "good on paper but is not always practical," wrote Jennifer McManemon, RN in her testimony. "One nurse should not care for two ventilated patients in an ICU, cover for 10 patients while a coworker goes to lunch on a medical floor, or be responsible to attend not only one labor patient but three at the same time." Supporters are waiting for a committee hearing on the bill to be scheduled. Missouri rachel moehlmann, an RN at St. John's Mercy in St. Louis and an NNOC supporter, got interested in single-payer healthcare after caring and raising money for a 10-year-old boy with cancer who lacked adequate insurance. In February, she and other RNs took their patient advocacy one step further by joining with dozens of others to visit Congressman Russ Carnahan and urge him to sign on as a cosponsor of HR 676, a pending federal bill that would establish a U.S. singlepayer insurance system. Said Jane Montgomery, another RN present, "I try to give the same standard of care to every patient, and it would nice if single-payer were to do that as a matter of public policy." —staff report W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G 2007 Bylaws Proposals and Resolutions: Proposals for CNA/NNOC bylaws revisions and resolutions can now be submitted for consideration by the Bylaws/Resolutions Committee to submit for review by the elected CNA/ NNOC delegates at the September 2007 House of Delegates meeting. Any member in good standing, CNA/NNOC committee, or constituent body (e.g. PPC, LUC, etc.) of CNA/NNOC may submit bylaws changes or resolution proposals. Proposals must be written (preferably typed). They can also be submitted electronically by e-mail or on computer disc (MS Word format preferred). Bylaws proposals should include the text of the original bylaw as currently written; the proposed change; the complete text of the new proposed bylaw; the author's name, committee, or constituent body of CNA/NNOC submitting the proposed change; and the justification for the proposed change. Resolutions should be submitted in a "whereas/ therefore" format and include the author's name, committee, or constituent body affiliation (if any), reason for the proposed resolution, and the potential cost impact to CNA/ NNOC if the resolution is adopted. Send completed proposals to CNA/NNOC Headquarters, Attn: Bylaws/Resolutions Committee, 2000 Franklin St., Oakland, CA 94612, or by e-mail to admin@calnurses.org, or by fax to (510) 663-1681. The deadline for proposal submissions is May 1, 2007. Ballot Notification Ballots for the 2007 National Consolidated Election were mailed by firstclass mail on April 16, 2007 to all CNA/ NNOC members who are eligible to vote. Members who do not receive a ballot by April 25, 2007 and meet the eligibility criteria can receive a duplicate ballot by faxing a request to (760) 7519901. All ballots that are received in the designated P.O. Box by 9 a.m., May 16, 2007 will be counted. The ballot count will be conducted at the CNA/NNOC Oakland Headquarters office, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA, 94612 on Wednesday, May 16, 2007. MARCH 2007

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