Dawn Morrell
As a five-term legislator, Dawn Morrell’s real passion was expanding healthcare access. As an intensive care nurse at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, she was face-to-face with the trauma of poor health.
Morrell had a sticker on her fridge that said, “Do something that scares you every day.” For her, that was running for office.
She jumped out of her comfort zone, and with the support of WSNA and labor unions, she became a state legislator.
Morrell was inspired to run for office after serving on the WSNA PAC and Legislative and Health Policy committees and participating in Lobby Day. She provided testimony on many bills, including mandatory overtime. She shared Assignment Despite Objections authored by nurses forced to stay at work. Giving testimony to legislators who knew little about healthcare made her realize she wanted to be the person on the other side asking questions and making decisions.
She also considers access to quality healthcare a basic human right. But daily witnessed patients fearing losing their homes because of medical lives or losing their lives because they wanted too long to come to the hospital.
As a legislator from 2002-2010 and 2012-2014, she was part of the force that expanded Medicaid and then ushered in the affordable care act. She also worked with other nurse legislators to pass the first staffing bill. She sponsored and passed the bill unionizing 12,000 home care workers to provide them healthcare coverage, disability insurance, and better wages. She chaired the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services and championed mental health integration, long-term care improvements, and dental care funding.
Among her many committee assignments, Morrell served as vice chair of the Health Care and Wellness Committee with Rep. Eileen Cody a rehab nurse, as chair. And she was third in command in the legislature as Caucus Chair of the powerful Democratic Caucus.
Morrell worked 40 years at Good Samaritan, retiring after the nurses secured a great contract in 2023.
Morrell is now serving her second term on the Washington State Board of Nursing. She chairs the Substance Use Disorder Panel and the licensing subcommittee and serves on the discipline sub-committee. As always, she is supporting nurses while protecting the public.