Advocacy Camp 2020
Monday, Jan 27, 2020
8am
–
12:30pm
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.
Don't miss these upcoming events!
WSNA Lobby Day 2020
Thursday, Feb 6, 2020
8:30am
–
4pm
2.75 CNE contact hours
We won! Now What? (Seattle)
Saturday, Feb 8, 2020
10am
–
12pm
1.5 CNE contact hours
We won! Now What? (Tacoma)
Saturday, Feb 22, 2020
10am
–
12pm
1.5 CNE contact hours
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)
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
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.
St. Joseph’s Tacoma nurses fight for themselves and their patients
As nurses across the country unite and advocate for their profession, St. Joseph’s Tacoma nurses are doing the same for themselves and their patients as they fight the good fight for safe staffing – and against incredibly unsafe, management mandated “alternative staffing.”
It's on us to continue #BeyondTheCards
The collective voice of 4 million nurses have spoken, and they have been heard: the Washington state breaks and overtime protections bill has passed, without the bad amendments, and is on its way to the Governor. But we are not finished. We invite you to join us in our Facebook group #Beyondthecards in order to continue the momentum and nurse advocacy that has sustained the passage of our breaks and overtime protections bill.
It’s about nurses’ voices
As nurses around the country watch to see if Washington’s legislature will pass urgently needed breaks and overtime protections, we are reminded of the power nurses have owning our profession.
Senator states that nurses “probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day” in amending rest breaks bill
In perhaps one of the most demeaning statements on the nursing profession since Joy Behar’s 2015 “doctor’s stethoscope” comments on The View, Washington State Senator Maureen Walsh proclaimed on the Senate floor that Critical Access Hospital nurses should be exempt from protections in mandatory overtime because they sit around and play cards most of the day.