The Official Publication of the Alaska Nurses Association Circulation 7,400 to every Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse and Student Nurse in Alaska
Volume 60 • No. 2
May 2010
Legislative Fly-In 2010
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Health Care Reform Impact on Nursing by Lynn Hartz
Public Health Service Act, a primary source of federal funding for nursing education programs include: Nursing Student Loan Program Advanced Nursing Education Grants— Provides grants to nursing schools and academic health centers for nurses in master’s and post-master’s programs. Removes the 10% cap on grants for doctoral education. Nursing Education, Practice and Retention Grants Loan Repayment and Scholarship Program – Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program repays 60 percent of nursing student loans in return for at least 2 years of practice in a facility that has a critical nursing shortage. Nursing Scholarship Program supports Health Care Reform Impact continued on page 8
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act more commonly known as the Health Care Reform Bill. Described as “landmark legislation,” health care reform will have significant impacts on the nation as a whole, as well as important effects on nursing education and nursing practice. The American Nurses Association and American Association of Nurse Executives published information on the nursing-related provisions for their members shortly after the bill’s passage. A summary of the information follows: Workforce Provisions • The Reauthorization of Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs under the
Bill prohibiting mandatory overtime for nurses in Alaska clears legislature by Donna Phillips, RN HB 50, a bill prohibiting mandatory overtime for nurses in Alaska and excessive work hours, passed the legislature on 4/18 by a vote of 20 to 0 by the Alaska State Senate. At press-time, the bill was headed to the Governor for signature. Once signed, nurses of Alaska will proudly join with 15 other HB 50 sponsor States in taking steps Rep. Peggy Wilson to protect patient safety R-Wrangell through law or regulation to restrict the use of mandatory overtime for nurses. Passage of the bill has been a priority of the Alaska Nurses Association and bill sponsors for six years.
HB 50 Passes
Senate and House legislative sponsors, Senator Bettye Davis (District K, Anchorage) and Representative Peggy Wilson, RN (Wrangell) proved stalwart and tenacious in getting the bill’s passage. They tirelessly advocated for the safety of current and future Sen. Bettye Alaskans who find themselves Davis, Anchorage, patients in the health care sponsored SB 12, system. “There are many , a companion bill to many cases where nurses HB 50 complete their shifts, and they are called right back in after they leave,” Wilson says. “They’re tired. They’re ready to go home. They face threats of reprisal if they refuse to serve that extra shift and exhaust themselves—and that’s just unacceptable.” Representative Bill Stoltze (Chugiak) who was a co-sponsor, also played a critical role in getting the bill passed. HB 50 does not ban overtime. It allows nurses to
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May 2010 University of Alaska Nursing Graduates
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A HUGE Thank You
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work up to 14 consecutive hours, and then take a mandatory ten hour rest period (some specific exceptions are allowed in the bill). Mandatory overtime is defined in the bill as those hours that are made compulsory on top of regularly scheduled hours. Federal and native health agencies would be exempt. Fifteen states have restrictions on the use of mandatory overtime for nurses: thirteen states have enacted restrictions in law: CT, IL, MD, MN, NJ, NH, NY, OR, PA, RI, TX, WA, and WV, while two states have provisions in regulations: CA and MO. The Alaska Nurses Association leadership and members have worked with the legislature for 6 years to educate Senators and Representatives on the need to limit the number of hours a nurse is responsible for a patient’s care. Evidence has shown that the incidence of medication errors goes up dramatically after 12 hours of work. Unknown are the errors that have not been recorded, the errors of omission. According to studies, after 12-14 hours of work, mental acuity and alertness are equivalent to HB 50 Passes continued on page 4
Inside This Issue Message from AaNA President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Alaska NP Association Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Legislative Fly_In 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Meet the AaNA Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Executive Director’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Membership Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Project Healthy Juneau Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
A HUGE Thank You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Nurses in the News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
University of Alaska Nursing Graduates . . . . . . . 6
Letter to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
New AK Nursing Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The AaNA Vision Empowering Alaska nurses to be dynamic leaders, powerful in both the health care and political communities.