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09.15.2006
Deval Patrick’s Statements
Regarding Safe Staffing Bill in TV Debate Creates Firestorm Among
Frontline Registered Nurses
RNs and Concerned Voters Flooding Patrick
Campaign with Calls
BOSTON, Mass.–Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Deval Patrick created a firestorm of outrage and opposition from
frontline registered nurses during his appearance at a televised
debate Wednesday night, when he made a comment denouncing legislation
that would protect patient safety in hospitals by setting a safe
limits on the number of patients assigned to a nurses at one time.
(See below for transcript.)
“Nurses are up in arms over his comments,
and they are not letting him slide on what can only be perceived
by nurses as a blatant disregard for patient safety. This is an
issue of vital importance to those practicing on the front lines
every day who are watching patients suffer needlessly simply because
they have too many patients to care,” said Donna Kelly-Williams,
RN, a pediatric staff nurse at Cambridge Health Alliance and vice
president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The MNA is one
of 106 leading health care and consumer groups that have been advocating
for passage of the legislation.
“Our phones have not stopped ringing with
calls from hundreds of furious nurses who are trying to understand
why Patrick, whose campaign is based on a theme of serving people,
would use a televised debate to express a position that shows such
disrespect for nurses working on the frontline's of patient care,”
Kelly-Williams said. “The message to the Patrick campaign
from nurses and from our organizations is that nurses cannot and
will not support a candidate who doesn’t support reasonable
legislation to set safe patient limits.”
The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the largest
health care union and the professional association for all RNs in
the Commonwealth, has not officially endorsed any candidate for
Governor in the primary election.
“We have a diverse membership that had split
its support among all three candidates and thus, we were unable
to reach a consensus for a strong endorsement in the primary,”
Kelly-Williams explained. “Our plan was to wait for the general
election. We did so because all three Democratic candidates, including
Patrick, had the opportunity to meet with our board of directors
to review and discuss a compromise version of the safe staffing
bill that Mr. Patrick led us to believe was a reasonable solution.
Mr. Patrick’s comments at the debate made it clear to us where
he stands. He stands firmly on the side of the corporate special
interests that are harming patients and nurses and is standing in
opposition to those actually delivering the care.”
The formal 2005-2006 state legislative session ended
with the Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly passing
the compromise safe RN staffing bill 133-20.
The bill would have directed the state’s professional
public health experts to develop a regulatory process to set standards
and limits on the number of patients a nurse is assigned at one
time.
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Transcript of Deval Patrick’s Comments
Regarding Safe RN Staffing Bill
During Televised Debate on 9/13/06
Gabrieli’s Question:
What I’d like to know from both of you is
where is it in the positions that the Democratic party takes in
the state, where specifically do you disagree with our party?
Patrick’s Answer:
Well I think, I don’t know if it is the party
issue or not, but certainly most of the party imminence is against
Cape Wind and I’m for it.
I think there are issues around nurse staffing
ratios, the proposed bill that I think is, is something very hard
to for me to imagine actually legislating.
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