[Antiracism] [Workers Rights] Take a stand for safe hospitals

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

 <http://www.massjwj.net>  	




Protect Patient Safety 

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Help pass the Patient Safety Act!
Patient Safety Act Hearing and Lobby Day!
Wednesday, October 24, 
Hearing starts at 10am, State House

HB 2059, The Patient Safety Act, will require the Department of Public
Health to set a limit on the number of patients a nurse has to care for at
one time. This is a common sense solution to a growing health care crisis.
Visit  <http://www.massjwj.net/node/2166> our webpage for more information
and updates on the campaign. 

Send your message now and join us at that public hearing to pass this
legislation!  Transportation from many points across Massachusetts is
available and lunch will be provided. For more information, please contact
Jon Weissman at (413) 827-0301 or   <mailto:wmjwj at wmjwj.org>
wmjwj at wmjwj.org.    


Send  <http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/patientsafetyact/> a letter to the
following decision maker(s): 
Your State Senator (if you live in Massachusetts)


Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Support Patient Safety

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

Patients in hospitals continue to suffer because their nurse is forced to
care for too many patients at once, resulting in preventable medical errors,
increased complications, and hospital acquired infections. Even as the
industry records $1 billion in profits annually, hospital continue to staff
at unsafe levels.

I Support HB 2059, An Act Relative to Patient Safety, which will require the
Department of Public Health to set limits on the number of patients that a
nurse has to care for at once. This is a straightforward, common sense
solution to the nurse staffing crisis that includes safeguards that
hospitals have asked for. 

I ask you to lend your support to HB 2059. Thank you! 

Sincerely,


Send  <http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/patientsafetyact/> a letter! Take
Action!	

Instructions:
Click here to take action
<http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/patientsafetyact/>  on this issue. 


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Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. 
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What's At Stake:



Patient Safety Matters to Organized Labor

Understaffing Creates a Dangerous Environment for RNs and Patients:

*	In their pursuit of profits at any cost, hospitals have taken to
"speeding up the line" by giving nurses more patients than they can safely
care for at a time. This leads to a hazardous work environment where
injuries and burnout are more likely to occur. It also leads to an increase
in preventable medical errors, putting the lives of patients at risk. 

*	Nurses enter the profession to provide care to our society's most
vulnerable and to earn an honest living. They should not be subjected to
these brutal, dangerous and unfair working conditions. 

*	These conditions are driving registered nurses out of the
profession, with less than 50% of RNs in Massachusetts working bedside
(Opinion Dynamics Survey, June 2003) and over 40% of bedside nurses work
only part time (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services).

The Patient Safety Act Protects Non-RN Staff:

*	The bill includes stipulations that would protect the jobs of
licensed practical nurses, aides and technicians, and it instructs the Dept.
of Public Health to account for these support staff in the development of
staffing limits. 

*	The Patient Safety Act will add nurses to the health care team while
protecting everyone else on it. 

The Patient Safety Act will reduce health care costs while improving
quality:

*	Health care costs continue to escalate, straining employers and
employees alike. The Patient Safety Act helps to combat rising costs by
reducing hospital stays, expensive medical errors, and the financial strain
of replacing nurses who leave the profession due to burnout. At the same
time it helps to ensure that quality of patient care will improve for those
who fall ill across the Commonwealth.


Campaign Expiration Date:
November 25, 2007 



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