Rep. Steve Drazkowski(R-Mn) Fire the nurses.. use baby moniters

[walldude]

And here we have the moron of the day.

"Because creating jobs is Rep. Steve Drazkowski's (R-Mazeppa) number one priority, he's introduced idiotic proposal after wingnut proposal. This time he may have topped all his past stupidity. He is proposing eliminating the monitoring of patients at hospitals and replacing human beings with baby monitors. Thousands of health aides will be laid off."

"According to AFSCME, this Health and Human Services bill in which his provision is included would lay of 20,000 people. That's 20,000 people filing for unemployment."





http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/8951/drazkowski-lay-off-the-health-aides-we-can-use-baby-monitors

[sinkingfeeling]

1. And exactly who is to respond to cries for help over the baby monitors?

[walldude]

10. Hey.. according to him.. it's working. Quit asking questions..

:)

[joeybee12]

12. If you cry for help it means you need to be culled from the herd...nt

[sinkingfeeling]

15. Then why spend any money on the monitors? Let's just warehouse the sick until they die.

[joeybee12]

19. Don't give him any ideas!!!!!

:scared:

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Walgreens

As soon as they finish the pap smears. ;)

[cemaphonic]

36. Yeah, it's not like nurses just hang out in the patient rooms waiting for something to do.

They show up when the patient summons them, on a regular schedule, or if the monitoring equipment shows a problem.

[Tippy]

2. Wonder how much stock he hold in a baby monitors....?

[dana_b]

3. will the baby monitor also be a robot

to actually CARE for the baby? What a dumbshit.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Not just for babies, but all hospital patients.

[dana_b]

17. yeah - my 3 y.o. bone marrow transplant patient who has 25 meds,

5 I.V. bags/meds/feedings hanging, baths 2 times/day, mouth pain/diarrhea/nausea and vomiting, cannot leave her room at all, mom and dad are not at the bedside all of the time, needs assistance with everything and is lonely/scared - we'll just give her a "baby monitor" and MAYBE someone will come by a couple of times a day. This guy is a..... well, I have to be careful with my words so I'll just say that he is a true Republican.

[Horse with no Name]

4. I've been telling my fellow nurses who vote republican

that we need to stand up for the teachers because without fail, once they can throw teachers down to low paying jobs--nurses WILL be next.

Very few of them believe me...because "we" are so specialized. My thoughts? So are the teachers.

They won't go after everyone at once...but there IS a pecking order...and in that pecking order, teachers and nurses pretty much are in a neck and neck race. So, it is important that we ALL stand up for the others. Just because our ox isn't getting gored right this minute...there is no reason to believe that it won't be in an hour.

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. And why is this happening?

Once upon a time, teaching and nursing were MALE professions. As the economy grew, these 'service' professions opened up to women, coming eventually to be dominated by women.

Now, as the economy contracts in ways it has not in 80 years, with the male-dominated industrial jobs going overseas, there is pressure on these service jobs. Women, who are the majority in these professions, will be forced out thru the mechanisms of union busting and layoffs. The new structures will be occupied by men. Women go back to waitressing and scrubbing floors.

And so we boldly move forward into the 19th century.

[Horse with no Name]

16. WOW. I never thought of it from that angle

Very telling indeed...when I know for a fact in the last few years that men do get preferential entry into nursing school (as a minority).

I think you might be correct.

[dana_b]

18. I've thought of that too

ever since Arnold went after the teachers and nurses when he took over as Governor. He obviously has issues with women and it really hit me when he went after our unions (I was in CNA).

This imbecile is no different. I swear - Repubs must have latent "mommy didn't love me" issues.

[TalkingDog]

25. Nope, strictly monkey tribe stuff.

They like that whole alpha male and subsequent pecking order...

Which is why the whole idea of "descending from apes" horrifies them. It hits a little to close to home.

[dana_b]

30. LOL

so true!!! it's probably more a combo of both ideas but you are right - they love to think that they are on the top of the pile.

[WinkyDink]

42. Or other "latent" issues.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Met a nurse at our labor rally last week

She works in a hospital here. They are laying off nurses and hiring from Asia to replace them. She had just lost her job.

[Horse with no Name]

31. And the thing about the foreign nurses

The hospitals literally OWN them. It IS slave labor. They have to work for less because the hospital paid to get them here...and the hospital basically owns their VISA. So, if they are fired, they go back to wherever they came from, unless another hospital is willing to be their sponsor. But, if they won't stay in line at one place, nobody else is going to take a chance because they might just be insubordinate.

One of the foreign nurses that I worked with for years was from England. She voluntarily went back home because of the working conditions in the hospitals here.

There is NOT a nursing shortage in this country anymore. There is really no other reason than stated to hire foreign nurses.

edited to add:
Oh...and just wanted to comment that there is also a pecking order in foreign nurses from most desirable (cost more, more qualified) to least desirable (costs less, does more, much less qualified, usually language barrier). From my experience from most desirable to least desirable (from a patient/coworker point of view...not a corporate point of view). What is very interesting that I have NEVER worked with or even seen nurses from Germany or France that emigrated here just to work. The ones I have worked with came strictly because of their spouses. Another thing that I have seen is some of my Canadian friends have returned home to work.

1. Canada/UK are about tied. Good skill sets, usually no language barrier. These nurses generally aren't easy for hospitals to push around.
2. Zimbabwe. My experience is that these are VERY good nurses. Good skill sets. No language barrier.
3. Asia. Good skill sets usually--kind of depends where they were trained. The Filipinos are generally very well trained...variable language barriers but understandable.
4. African. Pretty decent skill sets but usually very thick accents. Sometimes a little antiquated in treatments. These nurses are always fearful of their VISAS.
5. India. Usually very educated but nursing skills are generally lacking unless they have had other training outside of their country. Language is usually a barrier. These nurses are usually also fearful.

I think hospitals strive to get the ones that are fearful. I really do.

[WinkyDink]

41. Republican nurses must want to marry or are married to doctors.

Like my S-i-l.

[Wickerman]

5. Even in the world of the insane, Drazkowski is seen as crazy

Dumb idea after dumb idea. Two weeks ago he proposed logging black walnut trees out of our state parks. It would "help reduce Minnesota's deficit".

Guess he had never heard of the mission of state parks to preserve and restore; not make profit. We, here in Minnesota, actually have state forests where the trees in question are grown for harvest. They do it with a long range growth and harvest plan. State Parks are not a part of that plan. Fortunately, the rider that contained the asinine proposal was killed before it reached a full vote. The bastard had the gall to tack it on a DNR finance bill.

He is dangerously clueless and so incredibly partisan that he makes one think of a male Michelle Bachmann. :scared:

And, frighteningly, he is starting, by his insane antics, to make a name for himself.

[ladywnch]

7. see people misunderstood when the teabagger ran on a "jobs" platform

people thought they were going to CREATE jobs but their real plan was to eliminate as many of the remaining jobs as they can because then only people wiht jobs will have any power at all or will be able to vote.

See, really need to read all the fine print.

[Dappleganger]

21. What they really meant was creat McDonalds and Walmart jobs.

[Scuba]

8. Patient loads are already too high and he wants to lay off nurses? Can't wait until....

....his appendix needs to come out. He can have a monitor care for him post-op. It will record every TPR, scheduled med missed and I/O that's not within normal limits.

That data will be very useful at his autopsy.

[Horse with no Name]

33. Here is the disconnect

HE and HIS family will ALWAYS get appropriate care. He is bargaining away YOURS, not his.

[Scuba]

35. Ah, yes. The Devil's in the Details. n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Does he have a sick mother?

Maybe we should put her in a room with a baby monitor.

[walldude]

11. He was born of a Jackyl....

If you cut his hair you can see the 666 :rofl:

[hifiguy]

13. This gomer must have suffered from

"slippery baby syndrome" and been dropped on his head alot as a child.

Just when you think that the Repuds can't possibly get any dumber they lower the bar again. :eyes:

[Ikonoklast]

20. Only if he and his family members are part of the pilot program.

Screaming in pain? Tell the machine.

[Brickbat]

22. I think it's this asscheese's term to throw all the dumbass right-wing shit at the wall to see what

sticks. He also put forward the right to scab provision and some other just beyond stupid ideas. But of course, that's their SOP -- pick someone in a safe district to barf up all the bizarre ridiculous ideas, and then negotiate from the center to get what they actually want on the right.

[highplainsdem]

23. Drazkowski is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Another example of his ALEC-encouraged craziness here -- ALEC's press release about a proposed Constitutional amendment to let a 2/3 majority of the states repeal any federal law:

http://www.emailwire.com/release/52552-MEDIA-ADVISORY-A-movement-to-amend-the-US-Constitution-.html

MEDIA ADVISORY: A movement to amend the U.S. Constitution
State Speakers, Senate Presidents, and other state legislative leaders, along with members of Congress are coalescing behind a movement to amend the U.S. Constitution to include The Repeal Amendment.
(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 24, 2010 ) Washington, DC -

WHO:

Congressman and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, (R-VA) **
Congressman and 10th Amendment Task Force Chairman, Rob Bishop (R-UT)
Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) *
Randy Barnett, Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown, senior fellow of the CATO Institute
Bill Howell, Speaker of the House of Delegates in Virginia
David Clark, Speaker of the House of Representatives in Utah
Mike Haridopolos, President of the Florida Senate
Representative Brandon Creighton, State Representative from Texas
Bobby Harrell, Speaker of the House of South Carolina **
Brian Bosma, Speaker of the House of Indiana *
Joe Straus, Speaker of the House of Representatives Texas **
Judson Hill, Senator from the Georgia Senate **
Amy Handlin, Deputy Minority Leader, New Jersey General Assembly **
Steve Drazkowski, member, Minnesota House of Representatives **
Bill Bolling, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and President of the Virginia Senate*
Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell *
Attorney General of Virginia General Ken Cuccinelli **

* Supporting but confirmed attendance still pending.
**Supporting but will not be able to attend the press conference.

WHAT:
State Speakers, Senate Presidents, and other state legislative leaders, along with members of Congress are coalescing behind a movement to amend the U.S. Constitution to include The Repeal Amendment. The Repeal Amendment text is simple:
“Any provision of law or regulation of the United States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be effective when the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states approve resolutions for this purpose that particularly describe the same provision or provisions of law or regulation to be repealed."
WHEN:

November 30th, 2010 at 9am

WHERE:

Grand Hyatt Washington
McPherson Square Room – ALEC Media Room
1000 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

WHY:

“Washington has grown far too large and has become far too intrusive, reaching into nearly every aspect of our lives. In just the past few years, Washington has assumed more control over our economy and the private sector through excessive regulations and unprecedented mandates. Our liberty and freedom has lessened as the size and scope of the federal government has exploded. Massive expenditures like the stimulus, unconstitutional mandates like the takeover of health care, and intrusions into the private sector like the auto-bailouts have threatened the very core of the American free market. It’s time to return America to the common sense conservative principles of limited government, free enterprise, and individual responsibility. The Repeal Amendment would provide a check on the ever-expanding federal government, protect against Congressional overreach, and get the government working for the people again, not the other way around. In order to return America to opportunity, responsibility, and success, we must reverse course and the Repeal Amendment is a step in that direction.”
Congressman and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)

-snip-



“The federal government continues to squash the sovereignty rights of the states as guaranteed by the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution unrelentingly and at an accelerating pace. From countless unaffordable federal mandates imposed upon Minnesota's healthcare system, education programs, and even families, the overreach of Congress has gone unchecked. It's time for the states to restore their Constitutionally-protected autonomy, and that's why I am going to sponsor the Article V application for the Repeal Amendment.”
Steve Drazkowski, member, Minnesota House of Representatives

-snip-

Emphasis added.



See the long compilation topic, with hundreds of replies and links, for more about all the harmful legislation the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is involved in.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Drazkowski listed as the sponsor or co-sponsor of much of the ALEC legislation in Minnesote (it's typical for their bills to have lots of co-sponsors since they have thousands of legislator members across the country, quite a few in each state legislature).

I did some quick googling and noticed his name associated with bills designed to limit gun regulation, for instance. That's also typical of ALEC. One of the replies in the compilation topic is about an article and interview on the NRA site about ALEC's efforts to pass legislation the NRA wants (in that case it was Campus Carry, but that isn't the only such legislation ALEC promotes).

[highplainsdem]

24. And Drazkowski wanted to let the logging industry cut trees in MN state parks, according to this

article at ThinkProgress:

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/04/06/race-to-the-bottom-7-states-where-republicans-are-ruining-the-environment/

That is typical of ALEC policy, too.

[madrchsod]

26. i bet the nursing staff would love to get him as a patient.......

[Aerows]

27. LOL

And exactly what happens to people that require round the clock care, or people that for safety reasons (due to mental health issues) cannot be left alone and must be watched around the clock? Does he realize that there are people with just those types of issues?

I'm guessing he wants a loved one in a hospital where there are people who are mentally ill, but are in the hospital for medical issues just roaming around because there is no one to watch them.

Oh, and as others have mentioned, who is going to respond to the cries for help in the monitors? What are we going to have, two nurses dealing with an entire floor, having to contend with issues like "can I please have some water" or "can I please get some help going to the bathroom" or "I threw up on myself and need help getting changed"?

That has to be the stupidest proposal I've ever heard. I'm assuming he doesn't realize one of his loved ones or himself might end up in the hospital.

[LynneSin]

32. That'll work so well with someone in a COMA or near death

:eyes:

[dana_b]

37. they don't even have to be near death

how bout a fresh post operative patient in all kinds of pain and with wound care or a patient undergoing a transplant with 101 medications and side effects or a new mom who needs tons of education on how to take care of her new baby. I could go on and on but the point is that this imbecile doesn't care if we live or die. Nurses save lives.

[CBGLuthier]

34. you can almost smell the money he must have taken for that one

corrupt bastards.

[Contrary1]

38. As the voters climb over each other to get out the door.

What an idiot.
"...be able to access more services so that they will use less services". :wtf:

[walldude]

39. Did you like how as they were leaving he kept saying

"it's working, it's working" and they kept saying "no it's not".

Typical Republican, has no idea what it means to work in a hospital but is an expert none the less.

[Contrary1]

40. Other than the camera zooming in on their expressions after he said it, that was the best part.

:thumbsup: K&R

[NC_Nurse]

43. WTF? That has got to be the stupidest thing I've heard all year...and that's with

plenty of competition, mind you. Wow.

I wondernif he's ever been to a hospital and watched the nurses and aides working their ASSES off. More than he's ever done in a day in his life!

Appalling.

[krispos42]

44. But remember... Alan Grayson was wrong when he said R's wanted you to "die quickly"

:sarcasm: