Urge Legislators to Pass “Patient Safety Act” and “Hospital Profit Transparency & Fairness Act” – Launch Final Petition Drive to Place Both Measures on the Ballot
When: Wednesday, May 21 at 11 a.m.
Where: Outside the State House
(The rally will be held in front of the State House on the Boston Common side of Beacon St.)
Hundreds of nurses, joined by other health care advocates and policy makers, will hold a rally outside the State House on two critically important issues affecting the health care of every resident in Massachusetts, as the deadline for legislative action draws near for two ballot initiatives that garnered more than 200,000 signatures from Massachusetts voters last fall. In addition to calling for legislative action, the nurses are using the event to launch the final round of signature gathering needed to place the issues on the ballot in November.
The Patient Safety Act will dramatically improve patient safety in Massachusetts’ hospitals by setting safe, realistic, and prudent standards on the maximum number of patients that can be safely cared for by hospital nurses at any one time. Dozens of research studies have provided irrefutable evidence that Massachusetts’ low standards for patient safety and the lack of safe maximum patient limits for nurses are the key reason Massachusetts ranks 42nd worst in the nation for avoidable hospital readmissions, which wastes more than $700 million annually, according to the state’s Health Policy Commission.
The Hospital Profit Transparency & Fairness Act will guarantee the taxpayers’ right to know exactly how their healthcare dollars are spent by hospital administrators. The transparency act requires that hospitals receiving tax subsidies disclose in a timely and fully transparent manner how large their profit margins are, how much money they hold in offshore accounts and how much compensation they pay their CEOs. When hospitals like North Adams Regional Hospital are closing while others are closing pediatric, detox and psychiatric units, policymakers have the right to know if tax dollars are being spent to benefit patient safety or hospital CEOs. To ensure access to needed services by all patients, the act also provides enhanced funding options for hospitals serving poorer populations.
For information on both measures, visit: www.PatientSafetyAct.com
Who: Nurses from different areas of the state will be available for interviews by local media. They will rally at the state house, demand action by legislators and gather signatures on petitions.
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