MASSACHUSETTS NURSE NEWSLETTER :: September 2007

On Oct. 24, the place to be will be Beacon Hill!

On Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 10 a.m., the Legislature’s Public Health Committee will conduct a hearing on H.2059, the Patient Safety Act. The Patient Safety Act calls on the Department of Public Health to set a safe limit on the number of patients a nurse is assigned at one time.

In addition, the bill calls for staffing ratios to be adjusted based on patients’ needs. It also bans mandatory overtime and includes initiatives to increase nursing faculty and nurse recruitment.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a similar bill by a margin of 133-20 last year, but the bill was never voted on in the Senate. The MNA has refiled the bill this year and, in order to pass the bill into law, we need you at the public hearing on Oct. 24!

To attend the hearing and show your support, contact Riley Ohlson at 781-830-5740 or via e-mail at rohlson@mnarn.org. Transportation will be available.