Legislative Network for Nurses articles from October 2004

Legislative Network for Nurses archives from October 2004

Pin-up nurses?(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... PIN-UP NURSES? The Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) recently released a 2005 calendar featuring 12 male nurses from hospitals across the state. NHA said it created the calendar to promote the opportunities the nursing field offers both women...

Senate supports NIOSH in HHS funding bill; AAOHN pleased.(National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health)(American Association of Occupational Health Nurses)
October 4, 2004... The government would not be able to weaken occupational health and safety programs, according to terms of the fiscal year (FY) 2005 funding bill for the Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services passed Sept. 15 by the Senate...

House Bill provides alternate work schedules for VA nurses.(Veterans Affairs Nurses)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Nurses would be able to engage in alternate work schedules designed to attract more nurses to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care facilities, thanks to a new bill passed recently by the House of Representatives. The Veterans...

ANA wants changes to DHS rule requiring special RN certification.(American Nurses Association)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... In addition to extending for one year the deadline date for obtaining a special certificate from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the DHS should make other changes and clarifications to its rule concerning Canadian and Mexican nurses...

Nursing research.(National Institute of Nursing Research)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... NURSING RESEARCH. The Yale School of Nursing was recently awarded a $2.5 million grant to study the effects of a variety of diseases on individuals and their families in at-risk, diverse populations. The funding, provided by the National...

AACN endorses Sullivan report on increasing nurse diversity.(American Association of Colleges of Nursing)
October 4, 2004... The nursing profession must take action to ensure the country has a culturally competent workforce and equal access to quality care for racial and ethnic minorities, said a report released Sept. 20 by the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the...

Providers urge Congress to pass patient safety legislation.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Congressional leaders should move quickly to adopt patient safety improvement legislation that merges the best parts of the House- and Senate-passed bills. That was the message sent by the American Hospital Association (AHA), American Nurses...

Postpartum home nurse visits help improve infant health, reduce costs.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Nurses who visit mothers and their newborns in their homes can help reduce health care costs and limit the number of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations infants face, a Penn State Children's Hospital study revealed. "Our...

Nurses needed to assist Hurricane-Ravaged Florida.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Florida has received an overwhelming response from hospitals offering the names of nurses willing to temporarily travel to the state to help relieve exhausted nursing staff or assist with public health needs resulting from the four hurricanes...

Prescription drugs.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson recently announced new measures to help seniors get the lowest possible price for their medicines by allowing them to compare prices for similar drugs used to treat common...

ANA headquarters.(American Nurses Association )(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... The American Nurses Association (ANA) completed its move into its new headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. The move brings ANA one step closer to achieving the goals of the "Nursing on the Move" campaign, launched in 1990, to consolidate...

Hurricanes.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... The elderly are a particularly vulnerable population during and after hurricanes because of problems with physical mobility, hearing difficulties and the need for care for pre-existing medical conditions, the Centers for Disease Control and...

Health care for all low-income children and elderly.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... A new survey recently released by the journal Health Affairs shows that a majority of Americans believe that the health care needs of children and the elderly in the United States are not being met. According to the survey of more than 2,000...

Obesity among American children.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... An Institute of Medicine panel issued an action plan Sept. 30 aimed at reversing the rapid rise in obesity among American children. The report calls on schools to implement nutritional standards for food and beverages served on their grounds,...

California.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... California: The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) released the results of its third statewide California hospital experience survey, in which more than 36,000 people who spent at least one night in a participating hospital reported their...

Florida.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Florida: The University of Central Florida (UCF) expanded its basic nursing program by setting up a community clinic at a homeless center in Daytona Beach to give nursing students handson training. Students will have the opportunity to give...

Pennsylvania.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Pennsylvania: The Department of Nursing at Temple University's College of Health Professions recently secured funding from the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to help local students...

Planning guide.(Resources)(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality )(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released a planning guide designed to help state, county and local officials meet federal requirements to prepare for a public health emergency. Developed by researchers at Weill Medical...

Conference report.(Resources)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... The conference report of "Designing the 21st Century Hospital," a one-day conference co-sponsored in June by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Center for Health Design, is now available on the RWJF Web site. The purpose of the...

Quentin N. Burdick Program.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... HRSA anticipates that it will have $3.9 million available for 20 grants under the Quentin N. Burdick Program to support the education and training of health professions students in rural underserved communities and to improve access to health...

Allied Health Projects.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... HRSA anticipates that it will have $2.3 million available for 18 grants under its Allied Health Projects program to assist eligible entities in meeting the associated costs of expanding or establishing programs to increase the number of...

Geriatric Education Centers.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... HRSA anticipates that it will have $5.3 million available for 13 grants under its Geriatric Education Centers (GECs) program to support the development of GECs--collaborative arrangements involving several health professions schools and health...

Model State-Supported Area Health Education Centers.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... HRSA anticipates that it will have $5 million available to fund 13 grants under its Model State-Supported Area Health Education Centers program to improve the distribution, diversity and quality of health personnel in the health services...

Basic/Core Area Health Education Centers.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... HRSA anticipates that it will have $4 million available for six grants under its Basic/Core Area Health Education Centers program to improve the distribution, diversity, and quality of health personnel in the health services delivery system by...

Health Careers Opportunity Program.(Funding Opportunities)(Health Careers Opportunity Program)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... HRSA anticipates that it will have $14.4 million available for 37 grants under the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) to assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to undertake education to enter a health profession. Eligible...

Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... HRSA anticipates that it will have $25.5 million available to fund 35 grants under the Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program to assist in developing a health care workforce with the knowledge, skills, abilities and core...

Grants to States for Loan Repayment.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... HRSA anticipates that it will have $3 million available for 10 grants under its Grants to States for Loan Repayment program to assist states in operating programs for the repayment of educational loans of health professionals in return for...

The Department of Labor.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... The Department of Labor is offering $10 million in demonstration grants to address labor shortages, innovative training strategies and other workforce challenges in the health care and biotechnology fields. Health care applicants are encouraged...

Nurses mourn loss of Reeve.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... NURSES MOURN LOSS OF REEVE. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) expressed sadness at the death of actor Christopher Reeve, while reaffirming admiration for his courage and accomplishments. Reeve acted as the Honorary Patron of ICN and the...

RNs, very old, very young get priority for flu vaccine.(Slants & Trends)
October 18, 2004... Nurses and other health care workers are among those the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended receive first priority in receiving the influenza vaccine in light of the country's unprecedented immunization supply...

AANA, JCAHO aim to reduce patient anesthesia awareness.
October 18, 2004... Nurse anesthetists must be involved in the monitoring of anesthesia levels in a patient undergoing surgery to help reduce "anesthesia awareness" in those patients, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO)...

Nurse-midwives support HHS 'Early Offers' pilot.
October 18, 2004... More expectant mothers would have access to the obstetrical care they need if the government can contain medical malpractice insurance costs, which are spiraling out of control, according to the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). ...

Study examines time it takes hospitals to fill RN positions.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Hospitals with fewer than 1,000 employees took an average 45 days to fill vacancies for registered nurses in 2003, down from 60 days in 2001, according to the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration's third annual survey...

VNAA awarded grant for national geriatric program.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Nurses will receive specialized geriatric training, thanks to a new program administered by the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA). The VNAA received a $4.4 million, four-year grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies to fund the VNAA...

Privacy rule.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... A report issued recently by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommends the Department of Health and Human Services modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's privacy rule to exempt public health disclosures from...

Health care staffing firms.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) this month officially launched its certification program for health care staffing firms. The ongoing shortages of nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals...

Bioterrorism agents.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently awarded $232 million in contracts to develop new vaccines against three potential bioterrorism agents. The companies will work to develop a smallpox vaccine for use in children,...

Health IT.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently announced $139 million in grants and contracts to promote the adoption of health information technology (IT). Awards include more than 100 grants...

Voluntary quality measures.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The National Quality Forum (NQF) recently announced 21 voluntary quality measures for cardiac surgery. Examples include the timing of antibiotic administration and the prescription of beta-blockers and other medications at discharge....

American Organization of Nurse Executives.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Kathleen Sanford, vice president of nursing and administrator at Harrison Memorial Hospital in Bremerton, Wash., has been elected president-elect of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) for 2005 and will serve as president of...

Needlestick safety.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The American Nurses Association (ANA) Center for Occupational Health and Safety participated in the International Conference in Occupational Health Nursing titled, "Global Partnership in Occupational Health, Safety and Environment" held in...

Surge Capacity.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announces the third event in its 2004 series of free bioterrorism Web conference calls on Surge Capacity and Health System Preparedness. Surge capacity is a health care system's ability to rapidly...

Antidepressant medications.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in an Oct. 15 letter directed the manufacturers of antidepressant medications to add a "black box" warning--the agency's most serious labeling warning--to caution clinicians and consumers about the...

Florida.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Florida: Florida hospitals that have suffered through four hurricanes in six weeks are now in a position to manage the situation without the need of additional out-of-state nurse volunteers, the Florida Hospital Association and Florida...

Florida: the Department of Defense has awarded a $434,000 contract to the University of South Florida (USF) College of Nursing.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Florida: The Department of Defense has awarded a $434,000 contract to the University of South Florida (USF) College of Nursing. The contract is designed to help prepare the Tampa Bay region's nurses and other health professionals to effectively...

Georgia.(State News)(Georgia Hospital Association)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Georgia: The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) has produced a free video designed to assist hospitals and health care practitioners with disclosure to patients when they may have been harmed by a medical error. A medical ethicist, hospital...

Indiana.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Indiana: Clarian Health Partners has announced that its three downtown Indianapolis hospitals have simultaneously earned national Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The designation for Methodist, Indiana...

Maryland.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Maryland: Three major hospitals in Bethesda have formed an Emergency Preparedness Partnership to improve and coordinate their responses to disasters. The hospitals are the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the...

Michigan.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Michigan: The number of registered nurses licensed in Michigan has increased by 3.7 percent since 1998 to 143,604, about 87 percent of whom are currently employed, according to a new survey by the Michigan Center for Nursing. The survey...

Rhode Island.(State News)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Rhode Island: By 2020, Rhode Island could have fewer than half the nurses it needs to meet the state's health care demands, according to a report released recently by a health care research organization. The report predicts that the state's...

Foreign physicians.(Legislation)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Senate Oct. 11 passed American Hospital Association-backed legislation (S. 2302) to reauthorize and extend by two years a visa program that helps staff medically underserved rural and urban communities with foreign physicians. The State...

National Visiting Nurse Association Week.(Legislation)
October 18, 2004... The Senate last week passed legislation authored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) designating the second week in May of 2005 as "National Visiting Nurse Association Week." "Visiting Nurse Associations are making a critical difference, providing...

NPs Honored.(Legislation)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... NPs Honored. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioner (AANP) has designated the week of Nov. 7-13 as "National Nurse Practitioner Week" in recognition of the many contributions that this group makes to the health and well being of the people...

The Institute for Credential Innovation.(Funding Opportunities)(Institute for Credential Innovation of the American Nurses Credentialing Center)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Institute for Credential Innovation of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) announced the Margretta Madden Styles Credentialing Scholars Grant that provides up to $5,000 to a doctoral student conducting dissertation research or...

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has available fellowships under the Health Policy Fellowships Program. The program provides an opportunity for outstanding mid-career health professionals to gain an understanding of the health policy process,...

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is now accepting applications for the ninth annual Ernest A. Codman Award. This award recognizes excellence in the use of outcomes measurement by organizations and...

USDA/Telemedicine.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... USDA/Telemedicine. Notice. The Rural Utilities Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces the recipients selected to receive grant awards during fiscal year 2004 under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program....

IHS/Scholarships.(Federal Register)
October 18, 2004... IHS/Scholarships. Notice. The Indian Health Service (IHS) lists recipients of its Indian Health Scholarships. Contact: IHS, (301) 443-6197. Oct. 18 FR 61394.