Read the 2010 End of Session Report (PDF)

 

—  LEGISLATIVE SESSION 2010  —

Thank You!

Your calls, emails, efforts to spread the word among colleagues & friends, and visits to Olympia have all made this WSNA's most active year in the Legislature. Because of your efforts, every legislator is now aware of nurses, nursing issues, and how strongly we will fight to protect our patients and our practice. We have shown that nurses in Washington cannot be ignored and that we are a powerful group when speak together.

While we are disappointed that the rest break legislation did not become law, we made incredible strides in educating nurses, the public, and lawmakers about the impact of fatigue on patient safety. Our accomplishments in Olympia this year does include:

• Passage of legislation recognizing out-of-state ARNP prescriptions
• Landmark legislation to ban the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles, sippy cups, and other children’s dishware, as well as from sports bottles.

We applaud your efforts and thank you for your commitment!

Did you know:

• WSNA members sent over 5,100 emails to legislators in Olympia through our online email system?
• Nearly 1,300 members participated online in lobbying their elected leaders?
• Over 650 nurses and nursing students flooded Olympia on Nurse Legislative Day?
• Over 500 members connected to their legislators through WSNA's phone call program?

There is still lots of work to do, but we all deserve a pat on the back for a hard and honorable fight this year.

WSNA will be back in the Legislature in 2011 to tackle key issues like the Rest Breaks Bill.

Stay tuned for more information about how you can get involved & help build the momentum during the summer and fall.

 

About WSNA’s Legislative Affairs Program

Advocacy for nurses and nursing

Each year there are hundreds of proposed regulations and legislative bills introduced in Olympia with potential to greatly impact nurses, nursing, patient advocacy and your ability to deliver exceptional care. As an individual nurse, it’s nearly impossible to monitor and track all of the issues that affect your practice and livelihood.

As the largest association of registered nurses in the state, WSNA is there to ensure your interests are fully addressed. In fact, our legislative and regulatory staff of lobbyists, attorneys, labor, practice, and health and safety specialists are dedicated to exclusively representing the interests of registered nurses.

Washington State's Nurse Legislators

We are very proud to have so many nurses serving in the Legislature – in fact, Washington State boasts the greatest number of RN legislators in the nation!

With the current and impending nurse shortages, it certainly is an advantage to have RN legislators who understand the strategies needed to address both the recruitment and retention of nurses in Washington State. They have not only raised awareness on nursing but have been champions in health care access and quality patient care.

Here are the eight RN legislators.
To find more information about them, please go to www.leg.wa.gov.

 

Senator Rosa Franklin, RN	Senator Margarita Prentice, RN	Senator Rosemary McAuliffe, RN	Senator Cheryl Pflug, RN
Representative Eileen Cody, RN	Representative Dawn Morrell, RN	Representative Judy Clibborn, RN	Representative Tami Green, RN