Washington is experiencing an opioid crisis. To help address this crisis, UW Medicine and the Washington State Health Care Authority have partnered to offer two services to assist community-practice providers with managing patients with challenging chronic pain problems.
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, signed into law on July 22, 2016, expanded the privilege of prescribing buprenorphine in office-based settings to qualifying Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) through October 1, 2021.
As a nurse, you have likely seen the same person get readmitted to your facility over and over again, or perhaps you have wondered what led to a certain patient’s illness. What did the person do or fail to do to stay healthy?
In November 2016, the Washington State Chapter of the Association of Nurse Attorneys was one of two state chapters to receive the Outstanding Chapter Award at the American Association of Nurse Attorneys annual conference in Dallas, Texas. The award was based on work developing and presenting our Nursing and the Law continuing education programs.
This past year has been a busy one for the Washington State Nursing Quality Assurance Commission, with many updates to various rules, potential legislative bills and advisory opinions and policies.
After more than a year of grueling negotiations, the WSNA nurses at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital won a groundbreaking contract that for the first time in Washington state includes specific nurse-to-patient ratios.
By Ruth Schubert, APR, Director of Marketing and Communications
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released a final rule granting full practice authority to three of the four established Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) roles, effective January 13, 2017.
Do you want to eat healthier, be more active, get better sleep and have more joy? This is your year! ANA is declaring 2017 to be the Year of the Healthy Nurse and will be addressing specific wellness issues every month.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is considering whether to develop a new standard to prevent workplace violence in health care and social-assistance settings. The agency has issued a public Request for Information on the extent and nature of workplace violence in the industry and the effectiveness and feasibility of methods used to prevent such violence.
The 2017 schedule, approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was published online today on the CDC website and in Pediatrics. The updated schedule was also approved by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
WSNA is playing a leadership role in a new campaign, Public Health is Essential, designed to educate lawmakers and the public on the critical role public health plays.
The CDC has set the adult immunization schedule for 2017 based upon recommendations made by the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Mumps cases reported in Washington state are up to 349, according to the most recent numbers released by the Department of Health on Feb. 1. Local county health departments have reported increases in recent days, however, which would increase that number by at least 8 cases. More are expected in coming days.
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) (Public Law 114-198) extending the privilege of prescribing buprenorphine in office-based settings to qualifying nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) until Oct. 1, 2021. CARA requires that NPs complete 24 hours of training to be eligible for a prescribing waiver.
Parity reimbursement and the Comprehensive Addictions and Recovery Act.
The influenza season is in full swing in Washington! Currently, it appears we are near the peak of a moderately severe season. Several hospitals, particularly those located in the I-5 corridor, are reporting limited to no bed availability along with the need to board patients in emergency departments and other locations. Several emergency departments are also experiencing large volumes of patients and long wait times.
Mumps has spread and health officials urge immunization. The Washington State Department of Health reminds people across the state to take precautions to help stop the spread of mumps. It’s especially important for you as a health care professional to take precautions.
The Center for Opioid Safety Education has just released a new opioid overdose training video specifically for WA State.
Under the terms of the settlement, St. Joseph will pay nurses $5 million in back pay for missed meal and rest breaks. St. Joseph also will establish a “block break relief” system to ensure that nurses are afforded uninterrupted rest periods, and the hospital committed to hiring an additional 26 break relief nurses to safely care for patients while other nurses take their rest and meal breaks.
After making little progress in mediation Tuesday, the WSNA-represented Registered Nurses at Tacoma General Hospital are planning a strike advisory vote for December 16, two days after the next scheduled mediation session.
TACOMA--(Nov. 14, 2016) The WSNA-represented nurses at Tacoma General Hospital head back into mediation tomorrow demanding that the hospital address the severe, chronic staffing concerns that imperil patient safety at the hospital. Management’s deceptive “bargaining summary” prompts new Unfair Labor Practice charge. “No Voluntary Overtime, No Voluntary Extra Shifts” job action, which started Nov. 10, is having an impact, with nurses reporting receiving hundreds of text messages over the weekend begging them to come in.
TACOMA – (Nov. 7, 2016) After 11 months at the bargaining table, the registered nurses at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital will not take voluntary overtime or extra shifts Nov. 10-17. This concerted union action is in response to MultiCare’s ongoing illegal actions against the nurses, as well as its refusal to address staffing issues and break coverage in a way that supports the safe care of patients at the hospital.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has profiles of different occupations that include Top 5 lists for states with the most workers in those occupations and states that have the highest mean wages for the occupations. We took a look at the BLS profiles for Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners and discovered that Washington didn't make the Top 5 for any of the profile lists. So, we went in and created tables that included all states to see where Washington ranked.
ANA's Nurses by the Numbers is the first of an annual series of curated Federal data on registered nurses. Access to the document is free and includes a selection of up-to-date information about the RN/APRN employment environment.
