Act Now to Secure Funding for Nursing Workforce Development

[liberalnurse]

This issue applies to all 50 states:

Ohio Initiative:

The U.S. House and Senate are wrapping up action on the FY 2005 spending bills. Nursing needs your help to secure the greatest possible increase in funding for Title VIII nursing workforce development programs, including the programs included in the Nurse Reinvestment Act.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a $20 million increase for nursing workforce development, while the House has approved a mere $5 million increase. Nursing needs your help to secure the greater Senate amount. If enacted, the Senate increase would bring FY 2005 funding to a total of $162 million, a 14% increase over last year.

Contact your U.S. Representatives and Senators Mike DeWine & George Voinovich TODAY-- reach them by phone using the U.S Capitol Switchboard at 202/224-3121 or call their local offices at the following numbers:

House members.....Ohio

John Boehner [phone] Michael Turner [phone]

Sherrod Brown [phone] David Hobson [phone]

Steve Chabot [phone] Stephanie Tubs-Jones [phone]

Paul Gillmor [phone] Marcy Kaptur [phone]

Pat Tiberi [phone] Dennis Kucinich [phone]

Steven LaTourette [phone] Bob Ney [phone]

Michael Oxley [phone] Rob Portman [phone]

Deborah Pryce [phone] Ralph Regula [phone]

Ted Strickland [phone] Timothy Ryan [phone]

Senators:

George Voinovich [phone] Mike DeWine [phone]

Final action on this spending bill is expected to occur the week of November 15. Please make your voice heard before then!

Thank you for your help with this important initiative.


J. Armstrong, RN, BSN
Ohio Nurses Association, District 10
Dayton, Ohio

[Warpy]

1. They're attacking this the wrong way

If they want more nurses, they're gonna have to figure out how to make the damn job more atttractive.

As it is, with 12 hour shifts, heavy physical labor, mental and emotional stress levels sky high, shitty retirement, forced overtime, and the threat of the total loss of overtime rights, nursing is NOT an attractive job and all the money in the world poured into nursing education will not get nurses to do that job. Most 4 year grads drop out of bedside nursing very quickly. 2 year grads have more longevity as nurses, but they too drop out of the profession at alarming rates.

It's the JOB, not the cost of education, that is the problem. Until you fix those working conditions, you are not going to keep nurses working at the bedside.

[liberalnurse]

2. Well said and true......

Lets not turn down the good fight for funds because we are "burned out" and frustrated. We can't keep what we have without the initiative funding.