Thanks to all members who called their state senators this week to gain support for two amendments filed by the MNA in the Senate Budget.  Both of these amendments will now proceed to the "conference committee", before they can be brought to the Governor's desk.  This process will take until the end of June.

Amendment 271 and 277 - Tisei/Pacheco - passed on May 23rd.  This amendment forces a comprehensive financial analysis of the Medication Administration Program (MAP), where unlicensed direct care personnel administer medication to the clients of the Department of Mental Retardation and Mental Health.  The analysis will include, but not be limited to: the number of deaths of clients of the Department of Mental Retardation and the Department of Mental Health since the 1993 Medication Administration Program regulations; the relationship of deaths to medication mismanagement; the number of complaints to Disabled Persons Protection Commission regarding abuse and neglect that may be tied to the absence of professional staff; the costs of hospitalizations, illness, injuries, death and unexpected emergency room or practitioner visits as recorded by the Department of Public Health and the Division of Medical Assistance; the cost of the infrastructure needed to assure quality in the Medication Administration Program, including training, training sessions, certification data bank, re-certification, monitoring, teaching, recording, and investigating errors, providing clinical oversight, providing consultation services for providers, surveying the vendors (188), surveying the sites (over 3,600); the cost of the Red Cross Testing contract; the cost of the new video production for MAP, privatization and how it affects medication administration since 1985, when these homes were last studied.

Amendment 609 - Morrissey/Tolman/Sprague/Lynch/Creem/Shannon - passed on May 24th.  The amendment language now creates a new level of oversight for any future regulations through the Secretary of Consumer Affairs.  "The Board of Nursing is going through major revisions of its regulations.  This is an attempt to give one more safeguard to those nurses.  There's some concern being expressed by the practitioners about the practices of the board" noted Sen. Morrissey on the Senate Floor.  Unanimously agreeing the need exists for better oversight of the Board, the amendment was immediately adopted without debate. 
The amendment provision that sought to clarify the BORN's statutory authority was not adopted because it presented a policy issue that the Senate believed was outside the scope of a Senate budget debate.  However, the Chair for the Nursing Commission, Senator Robert Creedon noted his grave concern about the BORNs authority related to summary suspension and noted that he would force a policy discussion on it during the Nursing Commission Hearing Process. 

Our sincerest thanks to the following Senators, without whom these achievements would not have occurred. Please send them an email of "thanks" at www.magnet.state.ma.us/legis/

Senate President, Thomas Birmingham
Senate Chair of Ways and Means, Mark Montingy
Senate Majority, Leader Linda Melconian
Senator Robert Travaglini
Senator Richard Tisei
Senator Marc Pacheco
Senator Michael Morrissey
Senator Steven Tolman
Senator Joanne Sprague
Senator Cynthia Stone Creem
Senator Charles Shannon
Senator Cheryl Jacques
Senator Stephen Lynch
Senator Richard Moore
Senator Robert Havern
Senator Therese Murray 
Senator Robert Creedon