Legislative Network for Nurses articles from March 2004

Legislative Network for Nurses archives from March 2004

ANA supports Kerry for president; others waiting or will not endorse.
March 8, 2004... Nurse interests would be better addressed if Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) were elected president of the United States, according to the American Nurses Association (ANA). The ANA Feb. 24 at a Town Hall meeting in Ohio endorsed Kerry for president...

Groups urge congress to support nursing workforce development.
March 8, 2004... Nursing workforce development programs (Title VIII, Public Health Service Act) would be a priority in the FY 2005 budget resolution if a coalition of nursing and other health care organizations get their way. In a Feb. 27 letter, a dozen...

FDA, nurses work to protect patients from counterfeit drugs.
March 8, 2004... Nurses and other health care providers may be better prepared to protect patients from counterfeit drugs, thanks to a report released last month by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The report addresses growing concerns about the...

Medicare reform act protects RNs from bloodborne pathogens.
March 8, 2004... Nurses previously not covered by the federal bloodborne pathogens standard now will have those protections. Section 947 (pages 588-589) of the recently passed Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 includes a...

Proposed rule requires nursing homes to record nurse staffing levels.
March 8, 2004... Skilled nursing facilities may be required to record staffing levels for direct care nursing staff at the end of each shift. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Feb. 27 published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would...

Nurse groups join to encourage health workers to get flu vaccine.
March 8, 2004... Nurses and other health care providers should be vaccinated against the flu, says a coalition of nurse and other health care organizations. The American Nurses Association, the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, the...

CMS tells Medicare carriers to slow 'legacy' claims payment.
March 8, 2004... Medicare providers not compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are being penalized, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Feb. 27...

Task force conclusion on screening for abuse deeply flawed, groups say.
March 8, 2004... Nurses and other health care providers should continue screening their patients for abuse, despite a recent task force conclusion. Leading health care provider and domestic violence experts March 4 challenged the U.S. Preventive Services Task...

HHS announces requirement to place bar codes on drugs to reduce errors.
March 8, 2004... Nurses and other health care providers will be better able to protect patients from preventable medication errors, thanks to a final rule requiring bar codes on the labels of thousands of human drugs and biological products. "Bar codes can...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
March 8, 2004... The American College of Nurse Practitioners would like to clarify a statement made in the Feb. 9 LNN, p. 17. The nursing community is requesting that FY05 nursing funding be increased to $205 million, not increased by a similar amount.

Reduction of cervical cancer.
March 8, 2004... Three leading national public health organizations--the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), the American Social Health Association (ASHA), and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA)--echoed the Centers...

Traumatic brain injuries.
March 8, 2004... More than 1.1 million people sustain mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBIs) each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), working with a number of partners, has developed a new tool kit designed to improve clinical diagnosis...

Medicines in Development for Women.
March 8, 2004... The American Nurses Association has joined the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in releasing the report on New Medicines in Development for Women. Women in the United States can expect to live an average of 79.4...

Information technology.
March 8, 2004... The director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently said that limited information regarding information technology's return on investment makes it hard not only to persuade the federal government to help hospitals buy...

Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards.
March 8, 2004... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and National Quality Forum (NQF) are seeking nominations for the 2004 Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards. Created in 2002 in memory of John Eisenberg, M.D., director of...

Faculty CareerLink.
March 8, 2004... The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has created an online resource to support nurses considering full- or part-time teaching careers. Faculty CareerLink is an information clearinghouse that features a nurse educator career...

Improving sepsis care.
March 8, 2004... VHA has published a new research paper that highlights the key steps to improving sepsis care in the intensive care unit. The research paper is part of a larger effort by VHA and its members, the VHA Health Foundation, Johns Hopkins School of...

Senior awareness campaign.
March 8, 2004... Families USA has launched a nationwide senior awareness campaign about the new Medicare prescription drug law. The launch of the campaign featured the premiere showing of a new Families USA video, hosted by Walter Cronkite. The video was...

Pneumonia Severity Index Calculator.
March 8, 2004... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality March 1 announced its first clinical decision-support tool for personal digital assistants (PDAs) that is designed to help clinicians deliver evidence-based medicine at the point of care. AHRQ's...

District of Columbia.(State News)
March 8, 2004... District of Columbia: A District of Columbia Nurses Association member has been named a National Academies 2004 African-American Portrait Collection Honoree. Vernice Doris Ferguson was honored at the 18th Annual African-American History Month...

New Jersey.(State News)
March 8, 2004... New Jersey: New Jersey hospitals can no longer require certain hourly employees to work more than 40 hours a week except in emergency situations under a state law that took effect on February 17. The law, passed last January, applies to...

Pennsylvania.(State News)
March 8, 2004... Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Higher Education Foundation has announced the distribution of $604,000 in grants to area nursing programs through the foundation's nursing education grants program. This funding will help address the nursing...

West Virginia.(State News)
March 8, 2004... West Virginia: Gov. Bob Wise (D) Feb. 25 signed a bill that beginning May 17 will prohibit hospitals from requiring nurses to work overtime except in emergency situations. The Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act applies to hospital registered...

HRSA/Cancellation of Grant Programs.(Federal Register)
March 8, 2004... HRSA/Cancellation of Grant Programs. Notice. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces the cancellation of eight grant opportunities for numerous HRSA programs that were initially published in the Sept. 4, 2003, Federal...

The Health Resources and Services Administration.(Funding Opportunities)
March 8, 2004... The Health Resources and Services Administration announces that applications will be accepted from clinicians seeking to be hired as commissioned officers in the U.S. Public Health Service and from sites seeking the assistance of these...

The American Nurses Foundation, which is affiliated with the American Nurses Association, has announced its 2004 Nursing Research Grants program.(Funding Opportunities)
March 8, 2004... The American Nurses Foundation, which is affiliated with the American Nurses Association, has announced its 2004 Nursing Research Grants program. It provides funds for beginning and advanced nurse researchers to conduct studies that advance...

The Last Acts.(Funding Opportunities)
March 8, 2004... The Last Acts campaign offers Rallying Points Community Coalition Awards of Excellence to recognize coalitions that have identified community needs for better care near the end of life, advocated for health system changes to bring about better...

You take that back!(Slants & Trends)
March 22, 2004... Reps. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) were joined by 28 other members of the House of Representatives in requesting that Tommy Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, apologize for his remark this...

Congress moves on FY 2005 budget: groups concerned with Medicaid cuts.
March 22, 2004... Those Americans who rely on Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for their health care may be in trouble unless Congress and the Bush administration act now to shore up these safety net programs, the American...

Representative plans to introduce bill mandating nurse-to-patient ratios.
March 22, 2004... Nurses working in hospitals will have more manageable patient loads, if a soon-to-be-introduced bill becomes law. At a town hall meeting this month with hundreds of nurses in Chicago, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) announced plans to...

Immigration policy key to filling nurse positions, report finds.
March 22, 2004... U.S. immigration policies are restricting the ability of health care providers to recruit needed nurses, physicians and other health professionals, according to a report released March 11 by the Immigration Policy Center. Foreign-born...

DOL launches $24.4m initiative to train health care workers.
March 22, 2004... The Department of Labor (DOL) March 15 announced a $24.4 million job training program to help address the nation's critical shortage of health professionals. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao kicked off the program, part of the president's High...

Groups urge DHS to delay certification rule.
March 22, 2004... Nurses would benefit if a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule is delayed. The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) are urging the DHS to delay for an additional 18...

Swedish research shows RNs should conduct breast cancer follow-up visits.
March 22, 2004... Having specially trained breast cancer nurses conduct follow-up visits could result in increased satisfaction among breast cancer patients and a decreased cost of care, according to research conducted in Sweden. Women who have been treated...

National Nurses Week.
March 22, 2004... The contribution of America's 2.7 million registered nurses, in saving lives and improving the health of millions of individuals, will be the focus of National Nurses Week. "Nurses: Your Voice, Your Health, Your Life" is the theme for 2004,...

Mark McClellan.(CMS)
March 22, 2004... The Senate March 12 by voice vote confirmed Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan as the new administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)...

Information about vaccines.
March 22, 2004... Immunization for Public Health (I4PH), a new Texas-based nonprofit corporation, has been created to provide information about vaccines to those who need it. I4PH is hosting the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii) Web site....

Medication errors.
March 22, 2004... U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) has released a book of case studies highlighting steps hospitals and other health care providers have taken to reduce medication errors. The case studies are drawn from interviews with more than 20 health care...

Health care careers.
March 22, 2004... The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a Web site designed to help middle and high school students explore the diversity of health care careers. The LifeWorks site features information on more than 100 health and medical careers....

National Occupational Health Nursing Week.
March 22, 2004... The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) has announced plans for a national week to recognize and celebrate members of the occupational and environmental health nursing profession. The first ever National Occupational...

Measures of care.
March 22, 2004... The American Hospital Association (AHA) and other partners in the National Hospital Quality Initiative agreed March 16 to include 12 new measures of care. Participating hospitals will be asked to share their data on seven additional measures...

Battered women.
March 22, 2004... Six phone calls over eight weeks from nurses to women experiencing domestic violence can significantly increase their safety-promoting behaviors, with impact that lasts for at least 18 months. That is the conclusion of a new study published in...

Mercury proposal.
March 22, 2004... The American Nurses Association (ANA) wants "immediate actions to significantly reduce mercury emissions from power plants and other sources, and improve federal fish consumption guidelines to reduce exposures," ANA President Barbara Blakeney...

Domestic violence.
March 22, 2004... The Family Violence Prevention Fund has developed a new tool designed to teach health care practitioners how to screen patients for domestic violence. The tool provides step-by-step guidance on routine health screening for domestic violence,...

Improving health care.
March 22, 2004... The Gustav O. Lienhard Award recognizes individuals for outstanding achievement in improving health care services in the United States. Award recipients are selected on the basis of two principal criteria: achievement in the area of personal...

Patient lifts.
March 22, 2004... The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on March 4 that Moving Solutions, Inc., of Downers Grove, Ill., is recalling its patient lifts because of a faulty design. With the Moving Solutions lift, excessive wear of the main bolt, which...

California.(State News)
March 22, 2004... California: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson March 12 approved California's plan to provide access to health care services to 73,000 medically underserved and uninsured children in rural areas of the state...

California: College of the Canyons in Santa Claritahas received a $400,000 challenge grant from the Weingart Foundation.(State News)
March 22, 2004... California: College of the Canyons in Santa Claritahas received a $400,000 challenge grant from the Weingart Foundation in Los Angeles for a collaborative nurse training program at five community colleges and several hospitals in Southern...

Florida.(State News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Florida: The Florida Hospital Association (FHA) has called on K.B. Forbes to halt his "irresponsible attack ads on hospitals" and fully disclose his group's funding sources, according to the American Hospital Association. Forbes heads a group...

Pennsylvania.(State News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Pennsylvania: Independence Blue Cross (IBC) has announced the establishment of the IBC Nurse Scholars Program, a $2.25 million scholarship initiative aimed at combating the shortage of nursing instructors and nurses in Southeastern...

Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Higher Education Foundation has announced the distribution of approximately $1.4 million in grants to area nursing programs.(State News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Higher Education Foundation has announced the distribution of approximately $1.4 million in grants to area nursing programs through the foundation's Nursing Education Grants Program, which will distribute nearly...

FDA/Smallpox Vaccination.(Federal Register)(Food and Drug Administration )
March 22, 2004... Notice. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled "Vaccinia Virus--Developing Drugs to Mitigate the Complications from Smallpox Vaccination." In this guidance, the FDA provides...

The Health Resources and Services Administration.(Funding Opportunities)
March 22, 2004... The Health Resources and Services Administration announces the availability of fiscal year 2004 funds to be awarded under the Special Projects of National Significance Program for the development and evaluation of innovative methods for...

The Community-Campus Partnerships for Health.(Funding Opportunities)
March 22, 2004... The Community-Campus Partnerships for Health offers an award to recognize exemplary partnerships between communities and health professional schools that build on each other's strengths to improve health professional education, civic...