Cover_2 10/5/10 2:22 PM Page 1 SEPTEMBER 2010 KANSAS CITY, National HERE WE COME! Research NURSE Medical Center THE VOICE OF NATIONAL NURSES UNITED RNs Unionize YOUR NOVEMBER 2010 ELECTION GUIDE VOTE NURSES’ VALUES CARING | COMPASSION | COMMUNITY TOC_Sept 10/5/10 4:17 PM Page 2 Letter from the Council of Presidents as a profession of predom- How can we complain about understaffing, ED overcrowd- inantly women, women’s history ing, the uninsurance rate, and the hostility toward unions in is of critical importance to us to this country if we can’t even be bothered to vote to change better understand where we’ve these conditions? As nurses, we need to not only fulfill our been and where we have to go. civic responsibility by voting, we need to actively champion So as Nov. 2, Election Day, candidates who represent our interests. The public trusts reg- quickly approaches, it’s never istered nurses and our opinion for good reason. We vow to be been a better time to revisit how their advocates, and that applies at the ballot box as well as women in the United States the bedside. Their faith gives us enormous power to influence won the right to vote. We say elections; we must live up to that promise. See inside this “won,” because the vote was not issue for NNU’s endorsements of candidates nurses can be given to women. They had to proud to support, coverage of this year’s mid-term election demand it and fight for it— races, and our Aug. 26 events honoring women’s suffrage. sometimes enduring physical abuse and violence—by marching In other news, we are delighted to announce that nearly in the streets, picketing the White House, publishing newspa- 600 Kansas City RNs at Research Medical Center voted by a pers, serving jail time, and organizing, organizing, organizing. landslide to join NNU, growing the numbers of RNs we rep- Women finally won the franchise in 1920, a mere 90 years ago. resent at the giant hospital chain HCA. We look forward to Did you know that many nurses were activists in the building this RN movement with their help. And Veterans women’s suffrage movement? Yes, public health nurses such Affairs RNs in August, Ga. are finding their voice to protest as Lillian Wald and nursing education pioneer Lavinia Dock chronic understaffing. They staged their first-ever picket in understood that to improve the larger health of their patients front of their hospital and gave administration a wake-up and communities, they needed to change conditions on a call louder than any reveille we’re sure it has ever heard. societal level by having a say at the ballot box. Their example Also in this issue, you can find the first of an occasional and wisdom holds as much truth today as it did then. series we plan to run featuring essays by nurses about how and Today, most people shamefully take their right to vote for why they became RNs, and what nurses’ values mean to them. granted. In California, they have a female, billionaire candidate We start off this month with DeAnn McEwen, an ICU RN from for governor who has openly admitted she has not voted for California and a member of the CNA Council of Presidents. almost her entire adult life. And who among us has not gotten off Remember, this November, vote nurses’ values, and tell shift at 7 p.m., dead tired, and wondered whether we really need- your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors to do the same. ed to rush home in order to make it to our polling station by 8? But failing to vote would not only disgrace the legacy of Deborah Burger, RN | Karen Higgins, RN | Jean Ross, RN nurses and suffragists, it would also hurt us and our patients. National Nurses United Council of Presidents NATIONAL NURSE,™ (ISSN pending) in January and February, and July Please contact us with EXECUTIVE EDITOR Rose Ann DeMoro The Voice of National Nurses United, and August. your story ideas September 2010 Volume 106/7 is pub- Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, They can be about practice or manage- EDITOR Lucia Hwang lished by National Nurses United, California. POSTMASTER: send address ment trends you’ve observed, or simply GRAPHIC DESIGN 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA changes to 2000 National Nurse,™ something new you’ve encountered Jonathan Wieder 94612-2908. It provides news of orga- Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. in the profession. They can be about COMMUNICATIONS nizational activities and reports on To send a media release or announce- one nurse, unit, or hospital, or about DIRECTOR developments of concern to all regis- ment, fax (510) 663-0629. National the wider landscape of healthcare Charles Idelson tered nurses across the nation. It also Nurse™ is carried on the NNU website policy from an RN’s perspective. CONTRIBUTORS Gerard Brogan, RN, carries general coverage and commen- at www.nationalnursesunited.org. They can be humorous, or a matter Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD, tary on matters of nursing practice, For permission to reprint articles, of life and death. If you’re a writer and Jan Rabbers, Donna Smith, David Schildmeier, community and public health, and write to Editorial Office. To subscribe, would like to contribute an article, Ann Kettering Sincox healthcare policy. It is published send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription please let us know. You can reach us at PHOTOGRAPHY monthly except for combined issues Department. [email protected]. Jaclyn Higgs, Lauren Reid TOC_Sept 10/5/10 4:18 PM Page 3 12 6 Contents 4 News Briefs Candidates RNs can be proud to vote for in November’s general election 6 | VA nurses in Georgia picket over chronic understaffing 7 | Cambridge Hospital violated law 8 | Filipino RNs charge Sutter hospital with racial dis crimi - nation 9 | RNs at Kansas City hospital unionize; CDC weakens H1N1 mask standards 10 | Maine 26 nurses prepare to make staffing center piece of bargaining; Ohio RNs work toward hospital transparency; Texas statewide RN leaders meet and prepare for bargaining 16 CE Home Study: Nursing, Suffrage, and Social Advocacy 11 Not for Sale Earn CE credits by learning how the history This November, cast your ballot for nurses’ of women's suffrage intersected with nursing. values of caring, compassion, and community. Submitted by the Joint Nursing Practice Commission Let billionaire politicians know your vote can’t and Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD be bought. By Rose Ann DeMoro 24 Nurses’ Values 12 Common Values What made DeAnn McEwen choose nursing? On the 90th anniversary of women’s right to vote, Caring, compassion, and community. NNU registered nurses learn lessons from the By DeAnn McEwen, RN suffragists to apply to patient advocacy today 26 Always Fighting NNU executive board member Beth Piknick, RN never quits struggling for nurses. By Lucia Hwang SEPTEMBER 2010 WWW.NATIONALNURSESUNITED.ORG NATIONAL NURSE 3 NewsBriefs_Sept 10/5/10 7:02 PM Page 4 NEWS BRIEFS Candidates RNs Can Be Proud to Support in 2010 s registered nurses, NNU Allied Professionals and NNU believe should FROM LEFT: Ami Bera, Natalie Mosher, Barbara members vote their values— be elected. Nurses at Temple University Boxer, Tarryl Clark, Mark Schauer, Joe Sestak, caring, compassion, and com - Hospital in Philadelphia know how critical Fred Johnson, James McGovern, Dina Titus, Amunity. But as the election cycle having elected officials who support nurses’ Harry Reid heats up and commercial values can be as they worked their way images bombard and sometimes misinform, through to winning their strike last spring. previously as governor implemented ratios in it can be challenging to know which candi- In Michigan, the Michigan Nurses Asso- California’s ICUs. Equally troubling as Whit- dates hold the same values as nurses and who, ciation and NNU have chosen several races man is the candidacy of Carly Fiorina, anoth- once elected, will effectively advocate for bills for attention: Gary McDowell in the 1st er corporate darling, for the U.S. Senate seat and positions that protect those values. District; Fred Johnson in the 2nd; Mark currently held by the RNs’ endorsed candi- You may feel as though voting doesn’t Schauer in the 7th; Gary Peters in the 9th; date Sen. Barbara Boxer. Boxer is the chief matter as much in this non-presidential elec- Henry Yanez in the 10th; Natalie Mosher in sponsor of the national safe staffing and tion cycle, but nothing could be further from the 11th; and John Dingell in the 15th. patient ratio bill, and she has been protecting the truth. If nurses are committed to advanc- The Minnesota Nurses Association and nurses’ interests throughout her career. ing issues that help them be patient advocates NNU have a special opportunity to not only Also in California, nurses have endorsed and protecting their profession from ill- elect their endorsed candidate Tarryl Clark candidates for the U.S. House: Dr. Ami Bera advised weakening of worker protections and in the 6th Congressional District but also to in the 3rd District, Bill Hedrick in the 44th, social safety net programs such as Social Secu- defeat her opponent Michele Bachmann, and Steve Pougnet in the 45th. rity and Medicare, voting for nurse-endorsed who hails herself as the head of the Tea Party In Nevada, nurses also have a huge oppor- candidates means more in 2010 than in movement and clearly does not support tunity to support and reelect Senate Majority perhaps any other time in recent history. issues critical to working families and RNs. Leader Harry Reid over his opponent Shar- NNU’s nurse leaders have been busy In California, the California Nurses Asso- ron Angle.