National Nurses United

NEWS BRIEFS Massachusetts RNs reach signature goal for ratios and hospital disclosure initiative MASSACHUSETTS he massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced a major achievement in mid November: It had collected and submitted for certification more than 200,000 signatures for two ballot initiatives that will dramatically improve patient safety in Massachusetts hospitals, while also ensuring that taxpayer health care dollars are dedicated exclusively for patient care and needed services for all communities. The signatures on both measures were gathered by nurses and a number of other supporters from a variety of healthcare, social justice, labor, and senior advocacy groups throughout the Commonwealth, who met voters out in their communities, at special events, shopping centers, and local festivals over a six week period. Both initiatives met with wide acceptance by the public, allowing MNA to submit well more than the 68,0000 signatures required by law to place each question on the ballot, and to do so well ahead of the Nov. 20 deadline. "We are thrilled to have gathered so many signatures so quickly, which is a testament to T 4 N AT I O N A L N U R S E hospitals have been merged into mega-corporate networks where the drive for profits replaces a concern for the needs of patients." On Friday, Nov. 8, MNA delivered official petitions with more than 110,000 signatures to town clerks throughout the how important the issue of safe patient Commonwealth for certification of the limits is to the public," said Donna KellyPatient Safety Act, a ballot initiative that will Williams, RN, president of the MNA/NNU. set a safe maximum limit on the number of "The public, many of whom have been patients assigned to a nurse at one time, also patients or have had family members who called safe staffing ratios, have been patients in our while also providing for an hospitals, have witnessed acuity system requiring first hand how their patient For more details about hospitals to adjust nurses' care has suffered in recent what this bill would patient assignments based on years as nurses struggle to require, please visit the specific needs of the cope with unmanageable the Massachusetts patients. patient assignments. They Nurses Association Also on Nov. 8, MNA have also seen their commuwebsite at delivered official petitions nities deprived of services as www.massnurses.org. with more than 100,000 their one-time community W W W. N AT I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G NOVEMBER 2013

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