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Monthly
Status Report
 June,
2005
The Legislative session is progressing rapidly.
The Senate has debated and passed their version
of the budget and now the budget is in the hands
of the Conference Committee. Differences between
the different versions of the budget are resolved
there.
There is still time to contact
your legislator to urge them to fully fund state
facilities and
the Unit 7 contract. They need to hear:
- How it has become increasingly more difficult to
care for patients in state facilities.
- That facilities cannot recruit and retain staff.
- That vacancy rates in some Unit 7 job titles is
at 30%.
- That every day this situation
goes unaddressed patients will continue to receive
inadequate and
unsafe care.
- That work in these facilities
is becoming more and more unsafe as assaults
on staff are becoming
more common.
- That state facilities are the
safety net and without the care they provide,
these patients will have
no access to care.
-
That the Governor’s approach in contract
negotiations will do nothing
to help these facilities recruit or retain staff.
- That staffing levels, already
unsafe will become more and more dangerous.
- That it is time for the
state to begin to negotiate in a manner which
will result in a fair contract.
Only then will your patients,
the most vulnerable in the state receive the
care they deserves.
We know that legislators are
interested in these issues. We are in the process
of meeting
with Representatives
and Senators in key districts to make sure they
know how dangerous conditions have become. They
want to hear your story.
Many of you have e-mailed your
legislator. Please continue to do so. We have
six more weeks to make
our case. By working together we can make it
happen.
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