Cal. Nurses Association plans to merge with two other unions to create one super nurses’ union: National Nurses United.
August 26, 2009
National Nurses United will be comprised of the merging of the 3 existing unions: Cal. Nurses Assoc., Massachusetts Nurses Assoc. and United American Nurses. The 3 unions, already powerhouses among legislative organization for nursing professionals, plan to combine forces and unite under the new National Nurses United (NNU) title. Each member union will hold a national convention to ratify the merger, and the NNU will hold its founding convention in December 2009.
Nurse Download of Patient Data protected by Whistleblower Law.
August 24, 2009
Texas nurse downloaded entire computer hard drive (over 3,000 pages of patient files) after being fired because she told supervisors she was going to file written report about patient care violations. The Texas court of Appeals upheld her conduct under whistleblower laws, over objections based on medical confidentiality. Whistleblower laws not only permit but require nurses to report abuse, neglect and other illegal and wrongful acts.
Westlake Surgical vs. Turner, 2009 WL 2410276 (Tex. App., August 7, 2009).
California Board of Nursing replacements were elected August 12, 2009, and discussed raising licensing fees in 2010 and addressing the backlog of disciplinary actions. New Board members meet with the committees today in Sacramento.
Nursing Licensure fees have not been altered for the past 18 years, and will be increased by almost 50%. The increase in fees is necessary to fund the 63 positions created to handle complaints and investigate disciplinary actions. Renewal rates will increase to $150 (+ an additional $10 for the RN Educational Fund), interim & temporary license fees will rise to $50, and initial fees for NPs, nurse midwives, CNAs and clinical nurse specialists will also cost $150. The Board moved to support the increase of fees and will set a public hearing date shortly. The soonest the Board could vote on the increased fee schedule is November 2009.
Gov. Schwarzenegger appointed Brian Stiger as the new director of the Dept. of Consumer Affairs. Stiger has ordered an internal review of the Cal. Board of Nursing disciplinary process, and reform is a top priority. Stiger’s goal is to streamline the process so that complaints are investigated, prosecuted and resolved within a 12 – 18 month timeframe.
http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Content/Editorial.aspx?CC=205077
When Gov. Schwarzenegger promised “sweeping changes” he failed to appreciate the amount of time it will require to overhaul the Cal. State Board of Nursing disciplinary process. Delays and inefficiencies that attorneys at Murphy Jones LLP have been dealing with are now becoming more apparent to the state legislature and analysts waiting for reform.
Julie Fellmeth, Admin. Director of the Center for Public Interest law, said, “For some reason, [the State Board of Nursing staff] seem to feel their system is just fine, that it just needs a little tweaking around the edges here and there…There needs to be a significant blowing up of the system.”
To read the L.A. Times article visit: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-nursing-reform18-2009aug18,0,4778533.story
South Dakota hepatitis infection outbreak class action lawsuit filed, which is similar to Las Vegas endoscopy clinic legal action.
August 13, 2009
Aspiring nurses must complete fingerprinting with LiveScan, and the board must receive the results from the Dept. of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation which can take 3 – 6 weeks.
CMS reports that Scripps Memorial La Jolla and Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, CA, boast the highest survival rates for pneumonia and heart failure patients. The data reflects info. gathered from patient discharges between July 2005 – June 2008.
ADVANCE article: http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Content/Editorial.aspx?CC=203928
Full CMS Report: http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.
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