Nurse said whistle-blowing led to firing, Lawsuit alleges Mercy's birth center critically understaffed, By Dale Rodebaugh, Monday, April 30, 2012:"A veteran registered nurse at Mercy Regional Medical Center has sued the hospital, alleging she was fired for repeatedly expressing concern about understaffing and poor morale in the Family Birth Center.
Deborah Patterson, who worked at the hospital from August 1988 to September 2011, wants her job back.
She also asks for benefits she failed to receive, monetary compensation for mental anguish – the amount to be determined by a jury – and legal fees.
Patterson also wants a judgment saying the defendants violated a state law forbidding retaliation against registered health-care workers for expressing concern about patient safety and quality of care." http://durangoherald.com/article/20120501/NEWS01/705019923/
Jan. 1, 2005: Texas: Criminal checks lax in nursing, probe finds:"Many convicted of sex and drug offenses are still in the field, in violation of law. Scores of licensed nurses in Texas are convicted drug and sex offenders, and some of them are working in violation of state law, a newspaper investigation has found.
An analysis by the Dallas Morning News found that 57 licensed Texas nurses are felony sex offenders, including 31 who are listed in the state sex-offender registry. About 140 nurses have felony drug records, and only about half of them hold current nursing licenses." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2973420
December 30, 2002: Texas: INS memo eyes nursing shortage:"Classified ads touting lucrative sign-on bonuses and flexible schedules have become the norm, and job fairs giving away everything from cars to luxury vacations are becoming commonplace
Still, the Dallas-Fort Worth area's vacancy rate for registered nurses hovers around 12%. So dire is the shortage that many hospitals have turned to foreign recruitment, but the processing time to bring a nurse into the United States often takes nine to 18 months." http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2002/12/30/story3.html
December 17, 2002: Texas: County OKs funds for Project Arriba:"Supporters of Project Arriba were elated Monday when El Paso County commissioners approved a $250,000 appropriation for the job-training program that was initially turned down in September.
"I have just felt very uncomfortable about our not funding Project Arriba," said County Judge Dolores Briones, who proposed digging the money out of contingency funds.
In light of the county's shortage of nurses, Briones said, she felt it was a "moral imperative" to find money for a program with 360 participants, more than 200 of whom are in nursing or allied health." http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20021217-54340.shtml
Tuesday, 26 November 2002: Texas, San Antonio: Nontraditional students are on track for a high-paying career that's in demand:"In about a year, Melanie Koepp plans to stop being someone who has trouble paying her bills and to turn herself into a high-demand professional with the ability to earn $30 per hour.
Melanie Koepp of Marion cares for her five children while also studying at St. Philip's College to become a nurse. On Monday, she gets Heather, 12 (back to camera), Lori, 13 (from left), William, 4, and Megan, 7, ready for school.
Melanie Koepp gets ready to drive from Marion, north of San Antonio, to St. Philip's College. She gets up at 5 a.m. to get herself and her children ready for school.
She's a nursing student at St. Philip's College, where about 90 students a year convert their brainpower into a recession-proof career." http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=877579
November 24, 2002: Texas, Del Rio: Physician responds to 'rape kit' article:"As a physician speaking on behalf of those serving you here in Del Rio, I have no second thoughts about sending a sexual abuse victim to a facility who has the proper personnel to treat their injuries-just as I have no second thoughts about air-lifting a critical patient to a more sophisticated and specialized facility. Sexual assault victims need to be treated as critical patients, because they are. That is why we get them to a center that can provide them with the highest caliber of care.
So, how do we address this issue? It all boils down to funding for staffing and basic economics. As a regional hospital, we need help filling our nursing shortage. My statement today is how I hope to help; I ask you to do the same. Encourage your elected officials, locally and statewide, to get rural hospitals such as Val Verde Regional Medical Center the needed nursing and medical personnel through the implementation of effective legislation and policy." http://news.delrionewsherald.com/report.lasso?wcd=3299
Nov. 21, 2002: Texas, Houston: Study: Clogged trauma care leads to deaths:"It showed that between July 1999 and June 2001, about 25 percent of the patients with severe injuries who required transfer to a major trauma center died on days when both Ben Taub and Memorial Hermann diverted ambulances to other facilities.
On days when diversion was not as large a factor, Begley said, only 14.4 percent of severely injured transfer patients died.
Ben Taub and Memorial Hermann are the city's only two Level 1 trauma centers -- the places best equipped to handle patients involved in auto and industrial accidents, shootings, and stabbings." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1671238
June 22, 2001: Texas, Laredo: $265,000 Grant to A&M International to Address Hispanic RN Shortage.(ArtĂculo Breve):"A $265,000 federal grant aimed at expanding enrollment of regional Hispanic nursing students seeking RN degrees has been awarded to Texas A&M International University's Dr. F. M. Canseco School of Nursing.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provided the award for the Nursing Special Project, to be known as STAT-RN (South Texas Access to RN Education), effective July 1, 1999."
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0FWK/2001_June_22/78047172/p1/article.jhtml
National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.:"The following narratives have been written by individual state boards of nursing regarding the significant activities in their respective states related to the nursing shortage. These excerpts do not provide a comprehensive update of the nurse shortage in these states or nationwide. The information is simply intended to share information among Member Boards."
National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.
676 N. St. Clair Street
Suite 550
Chicago, Illinois, 60611-2921
Telephone: (312) 787-6555. info@ncsbn.org http://www.ncsbn.org/news/stateupdates_state_shortage.asp
Nursing Shortage Serious For Seniors, About.com:"As the population ages the impact of the nursing shortage will be even greater.
There is a threat to the health of every older adult in the United States and Canada looming on the horizon. It is not a virus or new type of bacteria that is causing this threat. The threat to health is a result of the increasing shortage of nurses in both countries.
Over the last couple of years there have been numerous stories in the press about the magnitude and causes of the shortage. So far solutions for this situation have been few. Additionally this nursing shortage will impact the oldest of citizens the most. Older adults use health care services at a higher rate than do younger people. Advances in medicine and improved nutrition and lifestyle have added years to the average life span. With this longer life comes higher needs for medical services, especially the services of professional nurses." http://seniorhealth.about.com/cs/prevention/a/nurse_shortage.htm
The Nurse/Patient Ratio by Genevieve M. Clavreul RN, Ph.D.:"The New Year heralds many things, and this year brings legislation mandating a patient/nurse ratio in California. But after the confetti stops falling, did we get what we want? We now have a panacea for thousands of nurses in California, however, the ratio really can’t be enforced. (At the writing of this article the companion bill for enforcement is stalled in the legislature, having been defeated at least once already).
As my children are fond of saying, “why am I not surprised?” Having been a nurse for almost 30 years, most of those years spent in the NICU/PICU, I am used to working with a strict nurse/patient ratio. ICU’s and a few other areas of nursing have always been under the control of an “acuity” system. Actually, all nursing is supposed to be, but we all know this isn’t always the case. For this reason, I knew in my heart that legislating a nurse/patient ratio was probably an exercise in futility."
Working Nurse, Working World Magazine
3600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1526
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel:(213)385-4781,
Fax:(213)385-3782, WorkingNurse@WorkingWorld.com http://www.workingworld.com/magazine/viewarticle.asp?articleno=254&wn=1
Nursing: A Medical Emergency, and Opportunity, hits home by Ronald A. Reis and Karen F. Reis RN:"You’re an RN, and you’ve been at it, administering to the sick and wounded, for months, years, maybe even decades. You’ve got your hands full with 12-hour shifts, high turnover, an often less than supportive work environment, and a stressed-out health care system that is, in places, itself on life-support. What to do? How to keep going? How to make this job, career, meaningful again? How to get out of nursing what you went into it for? How to avoid adding to the national nursing shortage by short-circuiting your own involvement in a noble profession?"
Working Nurse, Working World Magazine
3600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1526
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel:(213)385-4781,
Fax:(213)385-3782, WorkingNurse@WorkingWorld.com
http://www.workingworld.com/magazine/viewarticle.asp?articleno=253&w
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