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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.

February 4, 2020

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…

January 24, 2020

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…

January 21, 2020

What does it mean to be a nursing leader?

Some say you must earn accolades for your accomplishments, be highly educated or hold a formal title. I disagree with all the above being a requirement to call yourself a leader. I say it matters more what you do.ws

January 2, 2020

The push to recognize the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps as veterans

It was June 1944, the country was at war, and Marge Batey was graduating from St. Patrick’s Academy in Sidney, Nebraska. The boys from her high school class were heading into the military, off to the battlefields of World War II. Batey was heading to the Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Spokane.

November 27, 2019

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!

November 5, 2019

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.

September 16, 2019

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.

August 5, 2019

State cites and fines St. Joseph Medical Center Tacoma for serious safety violations

Press release

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…

April 26, 2019

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.”

April 26, 2019

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.

April 23, 2019

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…

April 18, 2019

Margarita López Prentice, RN 1931 - 2019

Margarita López Prentice, former state legislator, longtime WSNA member and inductee in the Washington State Nurses Hall of Fame, passed away quietly in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Bryn Mawr-Skyway, Washington on April 2, 2019. She was 88 years old.

April 16, 2019

Legislative session week 12

On Tuesday, the Senate released its budget.

April 5, 2019

Legislative session week 11

The week started off with a flurry of activity as the House of Representatives released its biennial budget on Monday.

March 29, 2019

Legislative session week 10

Our bills continue to move through the legislative process – and this week one of those bills was highlighted on TVW’s Legislative Review.

March 22, 2019

Legislative session week 9

We are officially halfway through the 2019 legislative session!

March 16, 2019

The lunacy of the rest breaks bill

It is irrefutable that when nurses do not get their breaks, patient care suffers. If you think nurses receiving the rest breaks they are entitled to is important to patient care, please: take action and send a note to your senator.

March 14, 2019

Legislative session week 7

On Thursday, nurses from around the state converged in Olympia for WSNA Lobby Day.

March 1, 2019

Legislative session week 6

Today is the first cutoff of the legislative session – meaning all policy bills must be voted out of the policy committee in their house of origin to keep moving through the process.

February 22, 2019

Legislative session week 5

For the first time anyone can remember, all committee hearings were canceled on Monday due to snow.

February 15, 2019

Legislative session week 4

Despite the snow earlier this week, things were busy in Olympia! Our government relations team has been busy meeting with legislators and testifying on various bills being heard in committee.

February 8, 2019

Legislative session week 3

On Thursday, the Senate Labor Committee voted our Rest Breaks bill, SB 5190, out of committee.

February 1, 2019

Legislative session week 2

The second week of the legislative session got off to a fast start! On Monday, both the House and Senate Labor Committees held hearings on our Rest Break bills, SB 5190 (Senate) and HB 1155 (House).

January 25, 2019