Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/198765
TOC.June 2006 6/11/06 8:17 AM Page 3 Contents FEATURES 12 Fighting for Air Asthma has become such a problem that, worldwide, it ranks above TB and HIV combined. Are we doing enough to understand and prevent this common, but complex, killer? By Conn Hallinan and Carl Bloice 16 Head Nurse Deborah Burger, RN leads CNA/NNOC with a mix of hard work and her own unassuming style. By Lucia Hwang 18 Safety Dance To promote "safety," hospitals across the country are rapidly forming Rapid Response Teams, groups of critical care experts that RNs call when patients go seriously south. But why concentrate this expertise in a separate team and not build it in each unit? And are these teams just another excuse to understaff and deskill the role of RNs? Submitted by Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD and the Joint Nursing Practice Commission 12 DEPARTMENTS 4 News Briefs Nurses from across the country convened in Sacramento to discuss how they'll confront challenges to their role as patient advocates; CNA/NNOC nurses meet to set national and state goals; Find out what's happening with CNA/NNOC-sponsored bills in California; Kentucky and Maine RNs look to affiliate with CNA/NNOC; CNA/NNOC appears to have qualified a campaign finance reform initiative for the November ballot that will change California politics as we know it; Though they still face uphill battles, federal and California legislation that would create single-payer healthcare systems are gaining support; A rundown of newly-organized facilities, contract settlements, and bargaining updates; Hearing scheduled on Illinois ratios 11 Clear and Present Danger A federal labor board decision on whether RNs are supervisors holds the potential to deprive all RNs of their union rights. 18 on the cover: Photograph by David Bacon. By Rose Ann DeMoro JUNE 2006 W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G REGISTERED NURSE 3