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Sample Letter of Appeal to Send to Governor
October 7. 1999
His Excellency A. Paul Cellucci Governor
State House
Boston, Massachusetts 02133
Dear Governor Cellucci:
As a registered nurse who is ethically, morally and legally
bound to serve as an advocate for the safety of patients in
the health care system, I am joining other outraged colleagues
from across the Commonwealth to appeal for your administration’s
immediate attention to concerns we share about the practices
of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (BORN).
Recent actions by the BORN have clearly demonstrated the
agency’s inability to fulfill its mission of protecting the
public by regulating and monitoring the practice of licensed
nurses in the Commonwealth. In its recent handling of
the case of the 16 nurses from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute,
the BORN dismissed the opinions of a number of investigative
agencies and imposed discipline upon those nurses. A
week later, the BORN Complaint Committee had elected not to
pursue a complaint of unethical and unprofessional conduct
against a nurse executive who fired a nurse simply for reporting
unsafe staffing and patient neglect. Yet, the National
Labor Relations Board ruled that the firing was illegal and
was an "attempt to silence and retaliate..." and the Department
of Public Health has faulted the administrators for failing
to correct unsafe practices.
This clear double standard has galvanized the nursing community
-- not only in Massachusetts, but also across the nation.
The BORN appears to aggressively discipline those who have
little or no control over their practice environment while
failing to discipline those nurses who have the overall responsibility
for patient care and the practice environment. These
unjust decisions come at a time when nurses everywhere are
struggling with a system-wide deterioration of patient care
caused by the corporatization of the health care system.
In addition, the BORN is proposing to promulgate vastly expanded
regulations for “Standards of Conduct and Disciplinary Actions”
for nurses. These controversial regulations contain
vague terminology, over-reaching regulatory language and new
disciplinary powers, while failing to guarantee nurses’ their
right to due process.
In light of the BORNs failure to fairly investigate, evaluate
and process complaints filed against licensed nurses, I am
asking you to do the following:
- Conduct an immediate investigation and review of the
BORN. This investigation should consider the composition,
structure, processes and policies of the BORN in order to
evaluate its ability to fairly and adequately regulate the
practice of nursing within the Commonwealth.
- Mandate the BORN to hold all licensed nurses – including
administrators and managers – accountable for the effect
of their conduct on the health and safety of patients.
- Halt the approval of proposed regulations at 244 CMR
2.00; 7.00; 8.00; until an investigation of the BORN has
been conducted and it is determined that the agency can
fairly and competently administer the expanded power sought
through these regulations.
- Sign the whistle blower legislation to protect nurses
as they attempt to speak out to protect the public’s health
and safety in situations of unsafe patient care.
As nurses, we are the last line of defense for patients in
the health care system. The public deserves the assurance
that all nurses (direct care givers as well as nurse executives)
will be held accountable for the care they deliver.
The citizens of the Commonwealth also deserve the assurance
that the agency charged with overseeing the accountability
of the nursing profession does so fairly, equitably and in
keeping with its principle mission of protecting the public.
Respectfully,
________________
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