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Spring, 2003
AASCIN Professional
Issues Committee
Bill
Limits Mandatory Overtime
The use of forced overtime for nurses by health care facilities
has contributed to the exodus of nurses. Mandatory or unplanned
overtime occurs in 67% of health care organizations every month,
according to a recent American Nurses Association (ANA) health
and safety survey. ANA has worked with members of Congress to
draft legislation that recognizes that mandatory overtime is
unsafe for patients and nurses.
Representative Pete Stark (D-CA) and Senator Edward Kennedy
(D-MA) have introduced legislation in the 108th Congress that
strictly limits the use of mandatory overtime. Nurses at
facilities receiving Medicare funding would not be required to
work beyond 12 hours in a 24 hour period or for more than 80
hours in a two-week period. The bill includes
nondiscrimination protections and an exception for emergency
situations. To read the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act, go to
the Library of Congress legislative web site at http://thomas.loc.gov/
and search for S 373 or HR 745.
Saving Rancho Los Amigos
One of the top ten ranked rehabilitation facilities in the
United States may be forced to close on June 30. Rancho Los
Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California has
been a leader in spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation
clinical practice and research for decades. As a Los
Angeles County government facility, it faces closure by the
Board of Supervisors as a result of a health care budget crisis
that's affecting many state and local governments around the
country. The currently debated funding plan proposed by the
California Community Foundation (CCF) calls for conversion of
Rancho to a private, nonprofit hospital. For a summary of the
CCF proposal go to
http://www.calfund.org/3/single_release_3.1.1.35.php.
The disability rights
community has petitioned the federal court to halt the closure.
Check out the latest news on the blight of Rancho in the Los
Angeles Times at
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-rancho4may04,1,3817499.story
.
Unannounced Joint Commission Surveys
By 2006, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations (JCAHO) will begin unannounced surveys as part of
all accreditation visits. Pilot testing will occur over the next
two years. See the JCAHO press release for more details on this
upcoming change at
http://www.jcaho.org/news+room/latest+news+release
/unannounced+surveys.htm.
Rob Rayner, BSN RN
CRRN
Graduate Student
University of
Washington
CDC
Announces Additional Exclusion Criteria
For
Smallpox Vaccination Program
The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has informed states that it
is recommending that persons be excluded from the pre-event
smallpox vaccination program who have known underlying heart
disease, with or without symptoms, or if they have three or more
known major cardiac risk factors -- hypertension, diabetes,
hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol) and smoking. This action
was recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices (ACIP) in response to several cases of cardiac adverse
events that have been reported following smallpox vaccination.
For more details, visit
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/index.asp
Budget Deal Eliminates Medicaid Cuts From '04 Budget
House and Senate
Republican leaders last night agreed on a final budget
resolution for fiscal year 2004 that excludes an estimated $93
billion in proposed cuts to the Medicaid program. "Coming on the
heels of our successful efforts to eliminate nearly $200 billion
in Medicare cuts that had originally been in the budget
resolution, it is clear that Congress felt the pressure not to
back away from its commitment to the elderly, the poor, the
disabled and those who care for them, especially at a time when
states are targeting Medicaid as they cope with unprecedented
budgetary pressures," said the American Hospital Association.
The House passed the agreed-upon final budget resolution early
this morning, but its future in the Senate is less certain.
The Senate is scheduled to vote on it today; if the budget does
not pass the Senate today, or the Senate leaves for Easter
recess without voting on it, Congress heads into a two-week
recess with the budget picture still unclear. (SOURCE: AHA
News Now Advocacy Update, April 11, 2003) Visit
http://www.medicaid.com
Millions of Americans Living with Paralysis Provided Hope with
Introduction of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act of 2003
Christopher Reeve came to Capitol Hill this month to voice his
support for legislation that could significantly improve the
quality of life for millions of Americans living with paralysis.
The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act of 2003 is first-of-its-kind
federal legislation that calls for new funding to advance
research, rehabilitation and quality of life programs that will
benefit persons living with paralysis, their caregivers and
their families.
If
enacted, this bi-partisan legislation would authorize additional
funding for paralysis research at the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) through the National Institutes of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), as well as expand rehabilitation
research activities through the National Center for Medical
Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR). In addition, the
legislation would authorize the CDC to carry out projects and
interventions to improve the quality of life and the long-term
health of persons living with paralysis and other physical
disabilities, and would expand research programs on paralysis
within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Lead
co-sponsors include U.S. Congressman Michael Bilirakis (R-FL),
U.S. Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), U.S. Senator Tom Harkin
(D-IA) and U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). The four component
are:
1)
It advances cutting-edge medical research at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) through the establishment of grants
to a consortia of research centers;
2) It establishes a Paralysis Clinical Trials Network and will
design rehabilitation interventions for people with paralysis
through the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research
(NCMR).
3)
It calls for The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) to carry out projects and interventions to improve the
quality of life and long-term health status of persons with
paralysis and other physical disabilities. CDC programs will
focus on caregiver education, physical activity, prevention of
secondary complications, and will coordinate services to help
remove environmental barriers;
4) It expands basic rehabilitation and health sciences research
through the activities of the Veterans Health Administration. A
Paralysis Research, Education and Clinical Care Centers (RECCs)
and Consortia will be established to focus on basic paralysis
biomedical research, rehabilitation research, health services
and clinical trials for paralysis. The bill will also
establish Quality Enhancement Research Initiatives (QERIs) to
identify best practices and define outcome measurements
associated with paralysis and improve health-related quality of
life.
For more information: visit the web site:
www.christopherreeve.org
Verena Briley-Hudson
MN, RN
Director, Chicago
Regional Office of Healthcare Inspections
Department of Veterans
Affairs, Hines, IL |
