Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/447704
Editor Lucia Hwang Executive Editor Rose Ann DeMoro Graphic Design and Production Jonathan Wieder Communications Director Charles Idelson Contributors Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD Liz Jacobs, RN California Nurse October 2005 Volume 101/08 (ISSN 0008-1310) is published by the California Nurses Association, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA. 94612-2908. It provides news of the Association's activities and reports on developments of concern to all Registered Nurses in the state. It also carries general coverage and commentary on matters of nursing practice, community health, and healthcare policy. It is published ten times a year with combined issues in the summer and winter. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. Postmaster send address changes to California Nurse, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA. 94612-2908. To send a media release or announcement: Phone: 510-273-2200 Ext. 249 Fax: 510-663-0629 California Nurse is carried on the CNA Website: www.calnurses.org. For permission to reprint articles write to Editorial Office. To subscribe: Send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription Department. Letter from the President President's Note I have to admit it was a little surreal. It was awards banquet night for the 2005 House of Delegates and there I was, munching on salad at the same table as Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, and Sean Penn – all movie stars. But I wasn't there because of them, they were there because of us. The nurses of the California Nurses Association were the real stars that night. These activist actors had come because nurses were the first ones to stand up for patients and ordinary Californians by challenging the likes of Big Pharma, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his November special election. Ironically, in our celebrity-obsessed culture, they were the ones who wanted to be close to us because of the values we stood for. At the same time, they helped us out in attracting media attention by bringing a little glamour to our event. I felt really proud that night, as I'm sure did all the other delegates, and reenergized as we head into the special election. I can't say enough about how important it is to go to the polls on Nov. 8 and vote no. CNA is recommending no votes to everything on the ballot not only because the initiatives are poor policy decisions, but as a protest to the entire election. I encourage you all to read through the measures, study the special election section of this California Nurse, and talk to your family, friends, and coworkers about why nurses are voting no. The outcome of this special election will decide whether Schwarzenegger reconsiders his attacks on nurses, fire- fighters, teachers, and the vulnerable populations we serve, or whether he believes he's received free rein to trample over us on behalf of Big Business. Meanwhile, we continue to do what the federal government and other groups can't or won't do: cut through red tape and send RN vol- unteers to the Gulf Coast. To date, we've flown more than 220 nurses on delegations to clinics in Mississippi, hospitals in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and the Houston Astrodome complex. The RNs have had amaz- ing experiences and are sharing incredible stories of survival by those who lived through Hurricane Katrina. You can find our first account of CNA's Katrina relief effort in this issue, and look for more stories in upcoming issues. Remember, vote no on Nov. 8. Deborah Burger, RN CNA President