National Nurses United

10 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 California dirty, toxic tar sands crude oil is not just a problem for the Midwest, through which TransCanada wants to run the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta, Canada down to Gulf Coast oil refineries. It's also a health hazard for Californians, as registered nurses who recently banded together to oppose Valero's application to refine tar sands in Southern California told the South Coast Air Quality Management District. In November, RNs from hospitals near the Port of Long Beach teamed up with envi- ronmental groups and attended the district's board meeting to testify and call for a promised investigation into harmful health effects arising from the refinery's plan to process tar sands oil in Wilmington. RNs said that many children and residents in and around the heavily indus- trial city already suffer from high rates of asth- ma and other respiratory ailments, which they believe will be exacerbated by tar sands process- ing. "Ideally, as nurses, we would like to prevent illness," said Heather Albright, a medical-surgi- cal RN at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance. "We need to heal not only people, but our planet, because it's all connected." At the meeting, RNs won a commitment from the district that it would conduct the investigation and hold public meetings to discuss the results. They also met in January with a district board member, Los Angeles City Councilmember Joe Buscaino, who offered to work with them on the issue. Though the RNs have momentarily stalled Valero's application, they know they must continue to fight, as other tar sands projects are in the works, including an application by ConocoPhillips to store tar sands in the area. Illinois it was 14 degrees outside with a minus 5 degree wind chill, but mere cold weather could not deter Robin Hood's hearty supporters from protesting Jan. 14 outside U.S. Rep. Danny Davis' office in Chicago to remind him of the pledge he made and later abandoned. In 2012, Rep. Davis signed the Robin Hood Tax campaign's "What Side Are You On?" pledge and cosponsored the Robin Hood Tax bill, H.R. 1579. In 2013, he withdrew that support, citing pressure from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Board of Trade. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, Robin Hood Tax supporters revealed some facts about Davis' Congressional district: the highest poverty rate in Illinois at 27.4 percent; a whop- ping 29 school closures; a jobless rate of 16.2 percent; and extreme hunger rates—more than 53 percent of residents in each of seven neighborhoods experience food insecurity. The people Davis represents greatly need and deserve support from funds raised through a Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street. Chicago RNs expect Davis to make good on his promise to advocate for his constituents' well-being and will continue to publicly call on him to reaf- firm his support for the Robin Hood Tax bill. Maine on jan. 8, Maine State Nurses Association RNs rallied at the state house in Augusta to expand Medicaid for 70,000 residents as part of their "Healthcare is a Human Right" campaign. Failure to expand Medicaid has already resulted in reductions in hospital staff throughout the state due to increased charity care and writing off of bad debts. This session, the Legislature moved to expand healthcare to nearly 70,000 Mainers at no cost to the state. The federal govern- ment offered to pay 100 percent of the expansion costs for the first three years, then gradually ramp down to no less than 90 percent of the cost. The governor vetoed the measure and the House failed to override that veto by just two votes. Another vote will take place in early 2014. If Maine does not accept the federal government's deal to expand healthcare, it would lose up to $256 million in funding per year. More than 350 nurses, doctors, patients, and providers rallied on the first day of the session to let legislators know that they demand Medicaid expansion as the first step to a universal, single-payer system in Maine. "There are 130,000 people in Maine without insurance," said Terrylyn Bradbury, an emergency room RN at a rural hospital in Millinocket, during testimony on Maine single-payer legislation the next day. "They are working people that have minimum wage jobs or low-paying jobs with part-time hours." Bradbury emphasized that many patients in her ER end up refusing care or hospital admission for fear of costs. One man signed out against medical advice that he might have a fatal heart arrhythmia. As he was picking up medications at a pharma- cy later that day, he collapsed and, despite EMS efforts, died. "That weighs heavy on my heart. We might have been able to save that patient's life if only he had stayed in the hospital." —Staff report WRAP-UP REPORT Clockwise from top left: Southern California RNs oppose tar sands activities with their air manage- ment board; Chicago RNs try to publicly hold a representative to his promise to support the Robin Hood Tax; Maine RNs lobby to expand Medicaid.

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