National Nurses United

M A R C H 2 0 1 4 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 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9 National As a testament to the power of registered nurses and National Nurses United, NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro was named in January by industry publication Becker's Hospital Review as one of the 50 "Most Powerful People in Healthcare. No one else from labor or from nursing made the list, which was dominated by industry executives and politicians. Becker's described DeMoro as head of "one of the largest, most progressive healthcare labor unions in the country" and noted NNU's work on improv- ing working conditions and retirement secu- rity for RNs, promoting single-payer, and supporting the Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street. Nevada Registered nurses at St. Rose Dominican hospitals around Las Vegas picketed Feb. 4 to protest demands by hospital officials for cuts in RN positions, and other concerns that they say is having an adverse effect on nurses and the heal- ing environment in St. Rose hospitals. St. Rose recently announced plans to cut some 25 posi- tions in what RNs warn is likely to be a prelude to broader reductions in patient care services that will affect all Las Vegas-area patients served by St. Rose facilities. The most immedi- ate cuts target case managers and RNs who work in the "float pool." Yet while pushing to make those cuts, St. Rose is continuing to actively recruit new RN hires for positions that come without health benefits, which NNOC-Nevada says is one of the hospital's real goals: eroding or eliminating health coverage for many RNs. "The benefited float pool consists of indi- viduals with a great amount of experience," said Orsburn Stone, St. Rose RN. "By clos- ing the benefited float, they will probably be looking to replace us with inexperienced, junior RNs, thereby decreasing our level of proficiency of care rendered." Veterans Affairs Sadie Hughes, a member of the NNU-VA Board of Directors and RN who works for the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, was selected in March as one of a handful of winners by the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing for its annual Florence Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nurs- ing. The goal of the awards, which marks its 22nd year, is to recognize professional nurses in the Greater Cincinnati area for their contributions to direct patient care. Hughes will be honored at an April 9 banquet. "Congratulations, Sadie!" said Irma West- moreland, RN and president of NNU-VA. "You deserve this award!" Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. registered nurses March 3 called on the District of Columbia City Coun- cil to pass an emergency bill introduced by Council member Vincent Orange that would immediately implement safe RN-to-patient staffing ratios in DC hospitals, and end a delay on the DC Patient Protection Act that has been fiercely opposed by a hospital industry that the nurses say has been putting their focus on budget goals and profits ahead of patient safety. Initially introduced in early 2013 with the support of 10 members of the District council, the bill has been ferociously opposed by the wealthy hospital industry lobby. A hearing on the bill was finally held in the Health Committee on Nov. 8, but the committee has yet to schedule a vote. Coun- cil member Orange, a member of the Health Committee and whom DC nurses have endorsed for mayor, is calling for a vote now. "This is a matter of life and death," said Leah Haileab, an RN in the step-down nurs- ery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. "The DC government can either listen to the appeals of the nurses—the caregivers that our patients depend upon—or it can ignore us and side with the big hospital corpora- tions and put more people at risk. The choice is that stark." —Staff report WRAP-UP REPORT Clockwise from top left: St. Rose RNs in Las Vegas hold vigil against layoffs, cuts to their pensions; Sadie Hughes, a Cincinnati Veterans Affairs RN and NNU-VA director, wins nursing award; District of Columbia RNs call for passage of emergency ratios bill

• Cover