WSNA reacts to Sen. Walsh’s comment that nurses at critical access hospitals ​“probably play cards”

Sen. Maureen Walsh has garnered national attention for comments she made on the Senate floor last week. Walsh made the comments while asserting that nurses at critical access hospitals should be exempt from a bill that, in part, would require hospitals to give uninterrupted meal and rest breaks to certain employees — including licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and certified nursing assistants.

Jennifer Muhm, Director of Public Affairs at WSNA, said Keller’s post generated enough web traffic to crash WSNA’s website “for a number of hours.”

“Clearly nurses work in very intense roles, caring for people who are in a hospital because, generally, they are not having a very good day,” Muhm said. “And, these jobs are hard, and they’re demanding. And so, I think for this whole profession to be told they were playing cards was just very offensive to nurses everywhere.”