National Nurses United

NATIONAL NURSE,™ (ISSN 2153-0386 print /ISSN 2153-0394 online) The Voice of National Nurses United, September/October 2014 Volume 110/6 is published by National Nurses United, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. It provides news of organi- zational activities and reports on devel- opments of concern to all registered nurses across the nation. It also carries general coverage and commen tary on matters of nursing practice, community and public health, and healthcare policy. It is published monthly except for combined issues in January and Febru- ary, and July and August. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: send address changes to National Nurse, ™ 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. To send a media release or announce- ment, fax (510) 663-0629. National Nurse™ is carried on the NNU website at www.nationalnursesunited.org. For permission to reprint articles, write to Editorial Office. To subscribe, send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription Department. Please contact us with your story ideas They can be about practice or manage- ment trends you've observed, or simply something new you've encountered in the profession. They can be about one nurse, unit, or hospital, or about the wider landscape of healthcare policy from an RN's perspective. They can be humorous, or a matter of life and death. If you're a writer and would like to contribute an article, please let us know. You can reach us at nationalnurse@nationalnursesunited.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR RoseAnn DeMoro EDITOR Lucia Hwang GRAPHIC DESIGN Jonathan Wieder COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Charles Idelson CONTRIBUTORS Gerard Brogan, RN, Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD, Jan Rabbers, Donna Smith, David Schildmeier, Ann Kettering Sincox PHOTOGRAPHY Jaclyn Higgs, Tad Keyes as registered nurses, it's safe to say we aren't scared of much. We face death and dis- ease every day. But this October, as Ebola turned from hopefully remote possibility into all-too-ugly real- ity, with the death of a Liberian Ebola patient in Dallas and the subsequent infection of two RNs who treated him, we have to admit: We were scared. We were scared because we, as working RNs in constant contact with other bedside nurses, were all too aware that our workplaces were utterly unprepared to handle Ebola. Heck, many of us constantly struggle against our cheapskate employers to secure normal, everyday supplies like bed linens for our patients. We didn't have much confidence that hospitals would step up and get our workplaces ready by stocking the optimal personal protective equipment we needed and actually running practice drills so that everyone knew what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. And we were right. Our survey of Ebola preparedness con- firmed what we already knew in our hearts: America's health- care infrastructure had its head in the sand, or rather, its hand over its pocketbook. And the government agencies supposed to look out for our health and safety weren't going to force them to do anything about it. Even after the news about the Dallas Ebola cases broke, our employers were brushing off our demands to get ready. "It won't happen here," they said. We'll bet that's what Texas Health Presbyterian thought. So, to protect ourselves, our patients, our families, and our communities, we have no choice but to educate, agitate, and demand what we need, what we deserve: the best equipment, proper training, and appropriate staffing in the event we need to care for someone with the deadly virus. Some of the stories nurses have shared about the shoddy (or nonexistent) equip- ment and supplies their employers expect them to use while taking care of Ebola patients are truly outrageous. Many of us will be protesting and picketing on Nov. 12, a national Day of Action on Ebola. Please join us. Check our website for details. Ebola has really exposed is how the United States does not have a healthcare system, just an industry that cares only about the bottom line and ultimately bears no responsibility for public health or the greater good of society. Only our public institu- tions, such as our county public health departments, by their very mission have the public good in mind, and those networks are small and have been routinely defunded over the decades. It's Ebola today, but it will be some other virus tomor- row. Now is the perfect time to highlight why we need to invest in our public health infrastructure, particularly in pressing forward to win a single-payer, Medicare-for-all healthcare system. All our lives are on the line. Deborah Burger, RN | Karen Higgins, RN | Jean Ross, RN National Nurses United Council of Presidents Letter from the Council of Presidents Stay connected FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/NationalNurses TWITTER: @RNmagazine, @NationalNurses FLICKR: www.flickr.com/nationalnursesunited YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/NationalNursesUnited DIGITAL MAGAZINE: NationalNurseMagazine.org

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