The nursing faculty shortage has finally garnered attention and action, at least from private philanthropies and health-related companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, which are funding programs and faculty in their regions. And while Congress approved $167.65 million for nursing workforce programs under Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act, President Bush vetoed the bill on November 14. The president proposed a $44 million decrease from the $150 million 2007 budget. An attempt to override the veto fell short by two votes as we went to press. In May Johnson and Johnson committed to continue the Campaign for Nursing's Future and will focus on increasing the numbers of nursing faculty. The campaign raised more than $12 million dollars for nursing scholarships. (See http://www.campaignfornursing.com.)
In the states. The "Sentosa 27" are the Filipino nurses in New York who resigned en masse when nursing home owners failed to address their complaints of unfair treatment and poor working conditions (see In the News, August 2007). Ten of the nurses are embroiled in legal battles with the nursing home operators and the Suffolk County, New York, district attorney. As we went to press, the nurses were still awaiting their day in court.
The Iowa Nurses Association's efforts paid off on April 26, when Governor Chester Culver signed a law requiring school districts to have a school nurse and to work towards a ratio of one nurse to 750 students-the ratio recommended by the National Association of School Nurses. Schools must otherwise seek a waiver to the law.
Governor Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania has made nurses an integral and highly visible part of his health care reform package, Prescription for Pennsylvania. In July Rendell signed legislation supporting key roles for advanced practice nurses.
Illinois nurses celebrated when Senate Bill 0867 was signed into law in August. It requires hospitals to implement a staffing system that's based on patient acuity and mandates the inclusion of direct care nurses in planning.
And Rhode Island governor Donald Carcieri vetoed legislation that would have banned mandatory overtime, but in late October 2007 the legislature overwhelmingly overrode the veto. The new law will take effect in March.
Labor and other battles. In October, in what some say is the largest nursing strike in history, nurses struck against 15 Sutter Health facilities in Northern California. And as the year drew to a close, nurses in West Virginia and Kentucky who were on strike at nine hospitals of Appalachian Regional Healthcare in October were still out. Working conditions and staffing are key issues.
The proposal for the appointment of a National Nurse (see In the News, December 2006) took a new turn in October, after major nursing organizations released a letter opposing the initiative. Proponents of the initiative say "the letter is not pertinent and misrepresents our current thinking." (For more information go to http://nationalnurse3.blogspot.com.) The disagreement is, at the very least, fueling discussion on the importance of nursing's visibility in health policy.
Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, news director