Why is Gov. Paterson Ignoring the Voices of NYSNA’s Nurses?

Related: Action Alert: Tell Gov. Paterson, ‘include NYSNA in Health Reform Committee’

LATHAM, NY, Sept. 3, 2010 – On Tuesday, Gov. David Paterson named the organizations that will serve as the Health Care Reform Advisory Committee and help New York implement the federal healthcare reform legislation – but he didn’t invite all the groups necessary to the table. The governor left out the state’s largest nurses’ professional association and RN union, ignoring the voices of registered nurses at hospitals and healthcare facilities around the state. He left out the New York State Nurses Association.

“Without the expertise and ideas of bedside nurses who know how our state’s healthcare system works and how it could work better, how will New York translate federal healthcare reform into programs that provide all New Yorkers with better care at lower costs?” asked Tina Gerardi, MS, RN, CAE, CEO of the New York State Nurses Association. “The Health Care Reform Advisory Committee needs the knowledge and understanding that bedside nurses have developed working with patients in healthcare facilities around the state.”

As the healthcare reform legislation was coming together at the federal level President Barack Obama recognized that nurses are “on the front lines” of providing patient care and controlling costs, that nurses are crucial to successful health care reform. At a recent meeting of the American Nurses Association, the President acknowledged nursing as “the beating heart of the medical system.”

Gov. Paterson doesn’t seem to have the same respect for nurses or a clear understanding of the vital role registered nurses play in patient care. Nurses already play key roles in preventive care and screening, disease management, health education and providing community-based primary care – all of which will be a cornerstone of reducing healthcare costs and improving the quality of care.

Gov. Paterson, how does it serve New Yorkers to implement healthcare reform without talking to and listening to the state’s largest group of nurses?

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 36,000 members, it is the state's largest professional association and largest union for registered nurses. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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