Candidate Profile: Lynette Vehrs, MN, RN, Running for 6th District House

As the current Chair of WSNA’s Legislative & Health Policy Council, Lynette Vehrs well understands the tremendous impact state legislation and policies have on nursing and health care. As a past member of several bargaining teams, she knows the importance of collective bargaining to win working conditions that allow nurses to give patients excellent care. And, as a longtime staff nurse and nursing instructor, Vehrs knows firsthand the critical role nurses play in the health care system.

“Nurses are an essential part of health care,” Vehrs said in her candidate questionnaire. “Our ARNPs are able to be primary health care providers for clinics, hospitals, and mental health facilities. Nurses are the front line advocates for the patients and the public. Along with their nursing skills, the RNs assess, manage, and teach the public.”

Entering public service is a logical next step for Vehrs, who has been active in the political arena for many years. In addition to her five years of service on WSNA’s Legislative & Health Policy Council, she has been a consistent presence at Nurse Lobby Day, showing up in legislators’ offices to speak up for policies that support nurses. She has also been involved with the League of Women Voters since 2011 and has been 6th Legislative District Committeewoman for the Washington State Democrats since 2013.

Vehrs is a Cougar through and through. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Masters in Nursing, and Teaching Certificate in Nursing from Washington State University, where she taught from 2005 through 2014. A longtime Spokane resident, her nursing experience includes six years in Cardiac Care at Sacred Heart Medical Center and eight years as staff and coordinator for Providence Visiting Nurses. In 2015, she was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Inland Empire Nurses Association.

Vehrs believes the Affordable Care Act was only the first step towards more affordable and improved access to health care and would work to limit costs and increase transparency in health coverage and pharmaceuticals. She supports every one of WSNA’s primary issues – uninterrupted meal and rest breaks, limits to mandatory overtime, stronger staffing policies, more support for public health services, legislative solutions to the nursing shortage, increased scholarship and loan repayment funding, and support for mental health services.