January 20, 2017 SEIU NURSE ALLIANCE ROUNDUP
Dear colleague,
Never before has it been more important to advocate, as nurses, for affordable, quality care.
The new Congress and Trump administration are on a dangerous path that will take healthcare, including Medicaid, from tens of millions of Americans and create chaos in our hospitals and healthcare system.
Without a plan to make care more affordable: * 30 million women, men, and children would lose coverage * 52 million Americans could be denied healthcare or charged more due to a pre-existing condition. * 2.6 million workers will lose their jobs, 1/3 in healthcare fields. Repealing healthcare is just the first step. Congressional leaders and Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rep. Tom Price, intend to drastically cut Medicaid and turn Medicare into a voucher system. This would be devastating and would leave the most vulnerable —children, seniors, and people living with disabilities— left with nowhere to turn. As nurses, we are compelled to be alert and take action if the best interests of a patient may be in jeopardy. In the same way, we’ll provide assistance at the scene of an accident or if someone falls ill nearby, we must do the same as the health security of tens of millions of Americans is threatened. Already, nurses like Deb Friedland, a member of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, have been sounding the alarm of what’s at stake if Congress dismantles our healthcare system. “Our mantra has always been ‘first we do no harm’ and we are asking that Congress replace the ACA before they repeal it,” Deb said at a recent rally in New York City. “I know for a fact that we see more patients than we did before we had the ACA. It really works.”
Join nurses and other SEIU Healthcare members for a National Healthcare Call-In Day on Tuesday, Jan 24. Even if you’ve already called your member of Congress they need to be reminded to put care first. Call 866-426-2631 and tell them: Show us your plan to lower healthcare costs and make improvements before taking healthcare and Medicaid from millions of Americans, our children, and aging parents. Thank you for taking a stand for our patients and the health of our country.
In Solidarity, Dian Palmer, RN Chair, Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare
Quality, Affordable Healthcare at Risk
Rep. Price as HHS Secretary would unleash healthcare catastrophe for working families to secure profits for corporations As the Senate considers confirmation of Rep. Tom Price for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry raised concerns regarding Price's history of putting corporate profits before the health of working people.
Price has supported efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, increase healthcare costs for millions of working people, and cut millions of jobs. He has also proposed slashing Medicaid by $1 trillion, putting the health of 1 in 4 Americas at risk. Watch and share on Facebook and Twitter this video that outlines the top three reasons why Rep. Price is the wrong prescription for working families. To read President Henry’s full statement click on this link.
Tens of thousands rally, share hopes and fears, tell Congress not to rush healthcare repeal
Thousands of SEIU members from Los Angeles to Hartford, Conn. braved stormy weather, long lines, and huge crowds to take part in “Our First Stand: Protect Healthcare" rallies on Sunday with their members of Congress and local allies. The events sounded the alarm for what’s at stake if Congress takes away healthcare from tens of millions of Americans. Corletta Hithon, a home care worker in Denver, tearfully spoke of what it would mean if she no longer had Medicaid to get the care she needs for several pre-existing conditions. “I’m not asking for somebody to give me something that I don’t deserve,” she said. “I take care of people and I can’t even take care of myself. I take care of people to live with dignity but what dignity do I have?”
- View and share this Facebook photo album of SEIU members in action here.
- Read more in the New York Times, Associated Press and Time.
Health and Safety
SEIU Nurse Alliance Leaders Testify in Support of a Federal OSHA Workplace Violence Standard to Protect Healthcare and Social Services Workers
Kathy Hughes, SEIU 121RN Liaison to the SEIU Nurse Alliance of California, and Deborah Bonn, Director of the SEIU Nurse Alliance of Pennsylvania, joined SEIU Health and Safety Director Mark Catlin at a meeting held by Federal OSHA to discuss the growing problem of violence in workplaces. They testified about violence faced by SEIU nurses, healthcare and social service workers and the need for facility-specific prevention plans based on local hazard assessments.
OSHA has already accepted petitions submitted by SEIU and other healthcare unions last summer and is requesting public comments on the extent and nature of workplace violence and methods used to prevent such violence in the industry.
The deadline for comments is April 6, 2017. SEIU Nurse Alliance chapters and local unions representing healthcare and social service workers interested in submitting comments should contact Mark Catlin at mark.catlin@seiu.org.
What We're Reading
Nurses are most trusted profession for 15 years running, Beckers Hospital Review, Dec. 20, 2016 For the 15th year in a row, nurses sit atop Gallup’s annual honesty and ethical standards poll; 84% of respondents rate nurses' ethical standards and honest as very high or high.
Nursing salaries are on the upswing, Nurse.com, Jan. 5, 2017 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, salaries for nurses increased on average about 1.3% per year from 2008 to 2014, and the rate has gone up 2.6% per year since. Experts predict the upward trend to continue.
Nightshift nurses are “running on empty” warn union chiefs after case goes viral, Daily Record, Jan. 12, 2017 Nurses in Scotland are starting a conversation about the dangers of working long hours with no breaks. They are rallying around a fellow nurse, who after working a 12-hour shift with no break, left work exhausted and sadly caused an automobile accident on her way home. “It is absolutely not uncommon that our members are coming off these shifts dead on their feet,” cited a Unison Scotland union organizer.
Copyright © 2017 Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare
