Advocacy Update
On January 21, 2015 the Jefferson Healthcare board of commissioners approved the following letter to each of our Wa State representatives:
I was very proud that our board stepped up to the plate to include advocacy for single payer healthcare in this round of advocacy. I believe we are still the first and only public hospital district in Washington State to do so.
On the other hand, it has been brought to my attention that more discussion was probably needed regarding another portion of this letter, the section on Nurse Staffing. The section reads:
Nurse staffing: We oppose any new state rules dictating clinical staff levels for hospitals, including establishing strict staffing ratios, regulating meal and rest breaks for hospital nurses, or unreasonably limiting overtime or on call staffing. Instead, we advocate allowing hospitals the flexibility to staff according to patient needs, and utilize nurse staffing committees to set appropriate staff levels given the severity of their patients and the experience of their nurses.
Some clinical staff have pointed out to me that this section may directly oppose legislation favored by many nurses and, I am told, the Washington State Nurses Association. In light of this new information, I am stating for the record, I do not support the “Nurse Staffing” portion of this advocacy letter- because I no longer feel I received adequate information to judge the merits of the recommendations. In the future, I will be asking the board to work harder to ensure we hear all sides of such issues so we can make a fully informed judgment.