We won! Now What? (Tacoma)
Saturday, Feb 22, 2020
10am
–
12pm
1.5 CNE contact hours
WSNA in OIympia
We stay on top of issues and bills in that impact the nursing profession, health care and collective bargaining. Through regular updates and opportunities to participate in the political process, WSNA helps nurses stay informed and have a say in the decisions that impact your practice.
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Take action!
Tell your legislators to support nursing and patient safety priorities.
2020 legislative session
This year we're working on...
Budget priorities
- School Nurse Corps funding
Improve the health and safety of K-12 students across Washington by funding OSPI’s request for an additional $2.75 million for the School Nurse Corps which funds nurses in Class II (small, rural) school districts. - Nursing education funding
Increase funding for four-year university nursing faculty salaries to recruit and retain well-qualified educators. Provide scholarship and loan repayment funding that allows financial stability while giving underserved communities additional providers. Increase training opportunities for sexual assault nurse examiners.
Policy priorities
- Sexual assault nurse examiners
Increase access to training, improve reimbursement and call payments, and create uniformity around the state to ensure victims receive the care they deserve. - ARNP reimbursement parity
Require health plans to reimburse ARNPs at the same rate as physicians when the same service is provided, aligning with the practice of Washington State Medicaid and the Department of Labor & Industries. - Health system transparency
Require increased transparency of health system financial reporting, including disaggregation of data.
Downloads
- 2020 legislative priorities (pdf; 69.21 kB)
- School Nurse Corps funding (pdf; 533.393 kB)
- Health systems financial transparency (pdf; 372.835 kB)
Advocacy toolkit
Legislator voting record
The 2019 Legislator Voting Record was developed based on priority bills that WSNA supported during the 2019 state legislative session. Not all WSNA priority bills were voted on in both chambers, which is why the bills lists differ from Senate to House. As the voting records indicate, most nursing issues have bipartisan support in Olympia.
- 2019 Legislator Voting Record (pdf; 298.443 kB)
Find your voting district
Look up bill information on the legislature’s website
Register to vote
News
2020 Legislative Session Week 4
What a week! WSNA nurses were at the Capitol this week – advocating for nursing priorities and working families. On Thursday, nurses from around the state joined WSNA’s Lobby Day and spoke with their legislators on our priority issues.
Legislature invests $40 million to retain and recruit nurse educators
Around the state, more than 800 qualified nursing school applicants are turned away each year. The primary reason? Vacant faculty positions mean there are not enough nurse educators to teach the courses, even though programs have available student slots.
2020 Legislative Session week 2
It was a busy week of hearings in Olympia, with WSNA weighing in on many bills. We continued meeting with legislators about our priority issues, including funding for the School Nurse Corps. This week we are highlighting movement on our policy priority related to the need for a more uniform, but also community-based, response system for sexual assaults and making sure that the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners we represent are included in conversations that affect their work.
2020 Legislative Session Week 1
2020 Legislative Session Week 1 update The 2020 legislative session kicked off on Monday. It’s the second year of the biennium which means that it is a “short” 60-day session. New House Speaker Laurie Jinkins was sworn in on Monday – she is the first woman and first out lesbian Speaker of House. She is a strong advocate for access to health care, public health, as well as nursing and patient safety issues. Former Speaker Frank Chopp remains a member of the House of Representatives and is now sitting on several committees including House Health Care.
It’s Election Day – Turn those ballots in!
A friendly reminder from the WSNA-PAC Board that today, Tuesday, November 5, is Election Day – no postage is required to mail your ballot!
We won! Now what? Learn about legislation that impacts nurses
Attend an event in our Fall Leadership Series. Learn what you can do as a nurse to ensure successful implementation of new laws aimed at preventing workplace violence and protecting overtime and breaks for healthcare professionals.
Remember to vote
A friendly reminder from the WSNA-PAC Board that Washington state’s Primary Election is Tuesday, August 6 – no postage is required to mail your ballot! The WSNA-PAC has endorsed candidates in two special election legislative races.
State cites and fines St. Joseph Medical Center Tacoma for serious safety violations
The state Department of Labor and Industries on April 11 cited and fined St. Joseph Medical Center Tacoma for safety violations related to a series of attacks on nurses at the hospital. L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health launched an investigation at the request of WSNA after a patient in the psychiatric unit assaulted numerous nurses in October 2018.