I Don’t Hate America!

The recently formed National Nurses United (NNU) union which represents approximately 150,000 direct-care RN’s across the country has activated their volunteer RN Rapid Response Network (RNRN) in the hopes to immediately send the support of our nation’s RN’s to the disaster areas in Haiti.  The national organization, aptly named an RN “super union” became a major force when three major nursing organizations merged under the NNU umbrella in December of 2009 through a historical vote that took place in Phoenix, AZ.  These groups consisted of the 85,000 member California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), the 23,000 member Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), and the 45,000 member United American Nurses (AFL-CIO) with all their affiliates.  The NNU board consists of an elected co-president from each of the three major nursing organizations listed above, several elected vice-presidents from represented state nursing organizations, a Secretary Treasurer, and Rose Ann DeMoro who was elected executive director, a position she held while leading the CNA/NNOC since 1993.

The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) with its 20,000 members has a major stake within the national union.  A press release sent out by the NNU to their members was being circulated to all NNU affiliates yesterday including here in MN calling for volunteers to aid those in the devastation areas in Haiti.  The formal call to action press release is presented here:

Largest RN Union Issues Urgent Call for Nurse Volunteers

To Assist Earthquake Ravaged Haiti
Nurse Volunteer Group to Coordinate Emergency Nursing Mission

The nation’s largest organization of registered nurses tonight activated its nationwide disaster relief program to recruit nurse volunteers to provide assistance to residents of earthquake devastated Haiti, the National Nurses United announced Tuesday night.

Registered Nurse Response Network sent more than hundreds of nurse volunteers to the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina. RNRN has also sent volunteers to Sri Lanka after the South Asia tsunami and to help following huge Southern California wildfires. RNRN is affiliated with National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the national union and professional association for Registered Nurses.

Details are still being worked out, but nurses can sign up at the web form that follows for more details. http://www.calnurses.org/rnrn/rnrn-volunteer-form.html. NNU will also provide follow up information at www.twitter.com/nationalnu

rses <http://www.twitter.com/nationalnurses> for details and plans.
The 150,000-member NNU was formed last month through the unification of California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, United American Nurses, and Massachusetts Nurses Association.

Through RNRN, the organization hopes to send nurses to provide emergency short term and long term medical support, as it has in previous major disasters. Following Katrina, for example, RNRN volunteers worked with local healthcare and emergency agencies and officials in mobile clinics, area hospitals, and other healthcare settings in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

“We are calling on nurses throughout the U.S. to join us in this critical effort,” said NNU Co-Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro.

“Nurses will be fundamental to the disaster relief process, to provide immediate healing and therapeutic support to the patients and families facing the devastation from this tragic earthquake,” DeMoro said.

If you are interested in donating to the National Nurses United (NNU) union of 150,000 direct-care RN’s, but more specifically to the fund for the RN Response Network (RNRN), please do so here.

According to the NNU, 1,500 RN’s have already responded in less than a day’s time to volunteer. The RNRN relief fund would help send these incredible nurses willing to to provide assistance in Haiti.  A new press release outlines information regarding a conference call for volunteering RN’s that will happen today:

National Conference Call Thursday For 1,500 RN Volunteers for Haiti Relief Effort
Press Can Dial-in or Visit Local Offices in TX, FL, MA, NV, IL, CA and DC

Nurses Issue Urgent Appeal to Public to Support Nurse Relief Efforts

More than 1,500 registered nurses from across the U.S. have responded in less than one day to the call by the nation’s largest organization of registered nurses for volunteers to provide assistance to residents of earthquake devastated Haiti —leading the RNs to now issue an urgent appeal for the public to support these efforts with donations of funds to support travel costs and medical supplies on their upcoming emergency nursing mission.

Press and nurses are invited to a conference call Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time for an overview of the efforts and their logistics, including the details on the first teams of nurses traveling to the area.  Press can call in for the briefing at (866) 320-4709 using the access code 143135, or gather with local nurses and representatives in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Miami.

The relief efforts are being coordinated by the Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN), a project of the 150,000-member National Nurses United (NNU), formed last month through the unification of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, United American Nurses and Massachusetts Nurses Association.  RNRN/NNU is hoping to have nurse volunteers on the ground in Haiti within the next few days and is coordinating with Haitian nurses on the effort.

Details are still being worked out, but those able to support the efforts of these nurses can get involved via:

• www.NationalNursesUnited.org to sign up to volunteer or donate
• @NationalNurses on twitter or by following: #haitiRN
• Call the RNRN hotline: 1-800-578-8225
• Support the RNRN/NNU disaster relief effort in Haiti by sending checks c/o California Nurses Foundation, 2000 Franklin St., Oakland, CA 94612. Charitable contributions will be used to pay for travel/related costs and medical supplies for volunteer RNs on their emergency nursing mission in Haiti.

RNRN sent hundreds of nurse volunteers to the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina. RNRN has also sent volunteers to Sri Lanka after the South Asia tsunami and to help following huge Southern California wildfires. RNRN is affiliated with National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the national union and professional association for registered nurses.

“The need for help has never been so acute.  We need financial support to transport them,” said NNU Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro.  “Nurses will be fundamental to the disaster relief process, to provide immediate healing and therapeutic support to the patients and families facing the devastation from this tragic earthquake,” DeMoro said.

Follow the latest news related to NNU & RN involvement at:
http://www.twitter.com/nationalnurses
http://www.nationalnurses.united.org

Follow me as I attempt to go to Haiti:
http://idonthateamerica.com/category/jason-b/
http://twitter.com/Jason_RN
I will keep everyone updated here on I Don’t Hate America! as I am attempting to arrange to go to Haiti as part of the RNRN relief efforts.  My availability is dependent on my pleas to switch my hospital shifts which is still pending as of early Thursday, January 14th.  For those who do not know, I have a  Master’s in Nursing specializing in Leadership & Management (MSN), currently work in acute care, and am also a certified public health RN.  Please donate to the RNRN cause and/or volunteer if you are an RN able to go on such short notice.

——–

Barack Obama issued these remarks from a transcript released from The White House yesterday morning:

Remarks by the President on Rescue Efforts in Haiti
Diplomatic Reception Room

10:20 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  This morning I want to extend to the people of Haiti the deep condolences and unwavering support of the American people following yesterday’s terrible earthquake.

We are just now beginning to learn the extent of the devastation, but the reports and images that we’ve seen of collapsed hospitals, crumbled homes, and men and women carrying their injured neighbors through the streets are truly heart-wrenching.  Indeed, for a country and a people who are no strangers to hardship and suffering, this tragedy seems especially cruel and incomprehensible.  Our thoughts and prayers are also with the many Haitian Americans around our country who do not yet know the fate of their families and loved ones back home.

I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives.  The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble, and to deliver the humanitarian relief — the food, water and medicine  — that Haitians will need in the coming days.  In that effort, our government, especially USAID and the Departments of State and Defense are working closely together and with our partners in Haiti, the region, and around the world.

Right now our efforts are focused on several urgent priorities.  First, we’re working quickly to account for U.S. embassy personnel and their families in Port-au-Prince, as well as the many American citizens who live and work in Haiti.  Americans trying to locate family members in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at 888/407-4747.  I’m going to repeat that – 888/407-4747.

Second, we’ve mobilized resources to help rescue efforts.  Military overflights have assessed the damage, and by early afternoon our civilian disaster assistance team are beginning to arrive.  Search and rescue teams from Florida, Virginia and California will arrive throughout today and tomorrow, and more rescue and medical equipment and emergency personnel are being prepared.

Because in disasters such as this the first hours and days are absolutely critical to saving lives and avoiding even greater tragedy, I have directed my teams to be as forward-leaning as possible in getting the help on the ground and coordinating with our international partners as well.

Third, given the many different resources that are needed, we are taking steps to ensure that our government acts in a unified way.  My national security team has led an interagency effort overnight.  And to ensure that we coordinate our effort, going forward, I’ve designated the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Dr. Rajiv Shah, to be our government’s unified disaster coordinator.

Now, this rescue and recovery effort will be complex and challenging.  As we move resources into Haiti, we will be working closely with partners on the ground, including the many NGOs from Haiti and across Haiti, the United Nations Stabilization Mission, which appears to have suffered its own losses, and our partners in the region and around the world.  This must truly be an international effort.

Finally, let me just say that this is a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share.  With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and a long history that binds us together, Haitians are neighbors of the Americas and here at home.  So we have to be there for them in their hour of need.

Despite the fact that we are experiencing tough times here at home, I would encourage those Americans who want to support the urgent humanitarian efforts to go to whitehouse.gov where you can learn how to contribute.  We must be prepared for difficult hours and days ahead as we learn about the scope of the tragedy. We will keep the victims and their families in our prayers.  We will be resolute in our response, and I pledge to the people of Haiti that you will have a friend and partner in the United States of America today and going forward.

May God bless the people of Haiti and those working on their behalf.

Thank you very much.

The U.S government has set up a website located at The White House Blog, Help for Haiti, which should feature regular updates from Obama and the White House staff.

Americans looking for family members in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at (888) 407-4747.

The Center for International Disaster Information also set up a site with more ways for people to donate to the “Haiti Earthquake Humanitarian Emergency.”

——–

Groups that are in Haiti already, or en route include the International Medical Corps, Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, UN Peacekeepers, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, University of Miami School of Medicine, Oxfam International, and so many more. Hopefully the NNU will be there within a few days. Keep following their site at http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is there. According to CNN who quoted this group, “the most urgent needs at this time are search and rescue, field hospitals, emergency health, water purification, emergency shelter, logistics and telecommunications.”

According to WCCO local news in the Twin Cities, MN,
MN aid group’s that are assisting include Kids Against Hunger of New Hope, Haiti Outreach of Minnetonka, Feed My Starving Children of Coon Rapids, HealingHaiti.org of White Bear Lake, World Wide Village of St. Paul, and likely many other organizations that are sending food and other sorts of aid who deserve to be recognized.

——–

From the International Medical Corps, another great medical organization that could use donations as well sent out a mailing from the frontlines in Haiti:

Dear Jason,

We arrived in Port-au-Prince this afternoon. The airport is so full of people trying to evacuate that it is difficult to find transportation into the city.

We traveled about 35 minutes by car to a hotel called Villa Creole. It is complete devastation here. Most of the city does not have electricity. Crowds of people are standing in the streets, taking care not to get too close to shaky buildings. Many in the crowds are injured, and dead bodies are lined along the roadside. Injured people are sleeping next to people who are dead. The streets are littered with cables from downed power lines, as well as cars and buses that crashed or were abandoned when the earthquake and aftershocks hit.

The hotel here has been turned into a small makeshift hospital. About 90-100 people were standing in the hotel driveway, waiting for help. We instantly began conducting triage and treating patients alongside a Haitian doctor from Hope for Haiti. Medical supplies — such as IVs, pain medicines, and bandages — are extremely limited. Most patients that we have seen so far are suffering from broken bones, fractures, and ruptures. Some are in more critical condition, but there is no hospital we can refer them to. Our team will sleep outside tonight. Like everyone else, we are afraid to sleep inside a building. The aftershocks are still coming.

If you have already sent a donation to support our emergency response team, we thank you for your compassion. If not, we hope you will join us in responding to this devastating earthquake. Your donation will help us bring in the medical personnel, supplies and equipment we need to save as many lives as possible here. Donate now.

Thank you for your support,

Margaret Aguirre
Director of Global Communications
International Medical Corps

——–

More information to come as available.  I will update after the NNU conference call with the 1,500+ RN volunteers.  The press is invited to this call as well.  Again, the information to call in is as follows from the NNU press release:

Press and nurses are invited to a conference call Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time [12:00 p.m. Central, 1:00 p.m. Eastern] for an overview of the efforts and their logistics, including the details on the first teams of nurses traveling to the area.  Press can call in for the briefing at (866) 320-4709 using the access code 143135, or gather with local nurses and representatives in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Miami.

Hat-tip to the Uptake for their video from the White House featuring President Barack Obama grilling ribeye steaks and sweet corn with Food Network’s Bobby Flay.

Following an inquiry from Flay, Obama revealed he likes his steak medium-well.  While Obama has previously dealt with controversy stemming from his decision to order a hamburger at such an unreasonable doneness, this revelation on the White House lawn raises some new questions:

1. Is our president scared of mad-cow disease or some other food borne illness?

2. Were the Founding Fathers, who fought for our freedom, “scared” of mad-cow or other food borne illnesses?

3. Are the troops fighting for democracy in Iraq “scared” of any such illness?

Considering Obama’s cowardice as to order a delicious ribeye steak at a doneness greater than medium-rare, in addition to prior questions about his citizenship status, he should step away from the grill and do the honorable thing: resign.  Ordering a steak medium-well not only shows a lack of patriotism, but is considerably disrespectful to the animal.

If he doesn’t resign, Obama at the very least should commit to not continuing the practice of ruining perfectly good pieces of beef by having them cooked to the consistency of shoe leather.

After a Bush presidency where an expansion on a successful childrens’ health insurance program was not worth an increase in tobacco taxes, Obama will be able to decide in his first days in office if he believes in this same logic.

What I find most interesting is according to the CDC, tobacco is responsible for the deaths of 5 million people worldwide every year.  Raising taxes would give one way to curb its use to those who are needing a reason to quit.  This is similar to what happened when oil prices sky rocketed last year.  When gas prices were at all time highs, Americans drove much less and public transportation was used much more (Smackers, 2008). This gave us an opportunity to call out for alternative fuel sources, use energy efficient sources, and require politicians to endorse it in their speeches.

According to UPI, the SCHIP bill calls for a “61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax.”  The Cigar Aficionado, a website I do not regularly read, posts that “legislation would impose a revised federal excise tax on large cigars—52.4 percent, with a maximum tax cap of 40 cents per cigar.”  I am not sure if this includes the Strawberry flavored Swisher Sweet’s at this time.

From Tim Walz press release:

WALZ SAYS CHILDRENS HEALTHCARE EXPANSION FISCALLY AND MORALLY RESPONSIBLE

Twice vetoed by Bush, SCHIP expansion passes House with wide bipartisan majority on its way to Obama’s desk

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Tim Walz voted with a bipartisan majority of his colleague to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, providing 11 million American children with health coverage. Growing unemployment, which reached 7.2 percent in the 4th quarter of 2008, combined with the housing crises mean that more children will need health insurance than when President Bush first vetoed the plan in 2007.

“During these tough economic times, when millions of middle-class Americans are losing their jobs and health care, it is essential that health care coverage for children be expanded without further delay,” said Walz. “This bill is the best of both worlds – it is fully paid for and insures an additional 4 million children who are not covered today.”

“This bill makes it easier for those 11 million kids to get preventative care and for their parents to reduce health care costs by replacing emergency room care with access to critical preventive health services,” continued Walz. “I believe that expanding health care coverage for children is a powerful statement about the value that we as a country put on our children’s health. Children’s healthcare is not just another detail — it is critical to strengthening the American family, and it deserves our continued attention. With the Senate’s help, this bill will land on President Obama’s desk in the next few weeks.”

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program was created under a Republican Congress in 1997, and has been wildly successful at providing health care for children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance. SCHIP is a program any fiscal conservative can support — it costs less than $3.50 a day to cover a child through the program, and it saves money in the long run, as providing children with routine preventive care means that families no longer have to rely on emergency rooms for their medical care.

Under SCHIP, private health care plans run by private insurers work with individual states to cover uninsured children. That innovative public-private partnership is the reason this legislation has been endorsed by America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association. Those groups recognize that this program is good for the health care industry, as well as being good for America’s kids.

The expanded SCHIP program passed today by the House of Representatives:

Ensures health care coverage for 11 million American children. The bill renews and improves the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), reauthorizing it for four and a half years – through FY 2013. The bill ensures that the 7 million children who currently participate in SCHIP continue to receive coverage. It also extends coverage to 4 million uninsured children, according to the nonpartisan CBO.

Improves care and strengthens funding. The bill invests billions in new funding over five years in SCHIP in order to strengthen SCHIP’s financing; increase health care coverage for low-income, uninsured children; and improve the quality of health care children receive.

Provides resources for states to reach uninsured children who are today eligible for SCHIP and Medicaid but not yet enrolled. Two-thirds of uninsured children are currently eligible for coverage through SCHIP or Medicaid – but better outreach and adequate funding are needed to identify and enroll them. This bill gives states the resources and incentives necessary to reach and cover millions of uninsured children who are eligible for, but not enrolled in, SCHIP and Medicaid.

Improves SCHIP benefits – ensuring dental coverage and mental health parity. Under the bill, quality dental coverage will now be provided to all children enrolled in SCHIP. The bill also ensures that states will offer mental health services on par with medical and surgical benefits covered under SCHIP.

Improves outreach tools to streamline enrollment of eligible children. The bill provides $100 million in grants for new outreach activities to states, local governments, schools, community-based organizations, safety-net providers and others.

Improves the quality of care for low-income children. The bill establishes a new initiative to develop and implement pediatric health quality measures and improve state reporting of quality data.

IDHA Side Notes:

-  IDHA is still around so please don’t delete us from your blogroll just yet.  We currently have one blogger on staff, but have some plans in the works.  It may be slow, but we are still around.

- Close friend of IDHA and also a personal/political blogger, Chad Larimer recently lost his mother to illness.  Our deepest condolences go out to him and his family through this rough time.  We ask that the blogosphere keep Chad in their thoughts and prayers.

Recent McCain ads and Sarah Palin charges have really pushed the idea that Obama is to raise taxes on all Americans.  Just look at this recent McCain ad that blatantly makes this false claim:

In reality, non-partisan FactCheck.org cited a recent report by Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center that explained how Obama was NOT going to raise taxes on the middle-class.

Let’s look at the numbers through clips from the Urban-Brookings report:

The Obama plan would reduce taxes for low- and moderate-income families, but raise them significantly for high-bracket taxpayers (see Figure 2). By 2012, middle-income taxpayers would see their after-tax income rise by about 5 percent, or nearly $2,200 annually. Those in the top 1 percent would face a $19,000 average tax increase—a 1.5 percent reduction in after-tax income.

McCain would lift after-tax incomes an average of about 3 percent, or $1,400 annually, for middle-income taxpayers by 2012. But, in sharp contrast to Obama, he would cut taxes for those in the top 1% by more than $125,000, raising their after-tax income an average 9.5 percent.

So the question is, do we want more money in our pocket?  Republicans are trying to make the case that McCain will help you keep more of your hard earned money, however, unless you are ridiculously rich (not the typical target audience of this blog may I add), then you will actually see a larger tax cut with Obama.

It is important for Americans to spread the word, especially to their Republican friends who assume McCain/Palin will be better off handling their money. It might be a good idea to turn their heads from conservative fanatics such as this guy anyway:

IDHA Side Notes:

I apologize for the lack of activity lately.  IDHA blogger DJ is unable to blog for a couple months due to his job. Since they are coming up, expect IDHA to increase coverage of local and national elections.  Welcome IDHA friend Chad Larimer to the blogging arena.  You can read Chad’s political and personal insights at A Day in the Life.

After seeing John McCain’s new commercial, “Safe,” in which he states he hates war, I decided to take a visit to his campaign webpage. I went ahead with clicking on his e-mail signup, but was greeted immediately with a security warning. Not knowing what to do, I took a screenshot of this intrusive prompt. Could McCain’s staff be sending a virus to me? Am I being watched as I click around his website? Why would McCain’s site prompt me with a security warning whereas Obama’s site invites me in?   The security warning:

“You have attempted to establish a connection with “johnmccain.com”. However, the security certificate presented belongs to “*.johnmccain.com”. It is possible, though unlikely, that someone may be trying to intercept your communication with this website.

If you suspect the certificate does not belong to “johnmccain.com”, please cancel the connection and notify the site administrator.”

My message to everyone: be careful when visiting McCain’s site! Might as well go to Obama’s instead.

(Though this post is in good fun, the security prompt was completely real)

In response to the comments on my previous post, ANA endorses Hillary Clinton, I did some investigating into why Obama may not have been chosen over Clinton.

The ANA endorsement process involves four steps. Here is a brief outline of the steps found at the ANA site (some material quoted directly to ensure accuracy):

Step 1: The ANA chooses four members from the ANA-PAC board to serve on the Presidential Endorsement Task Force. This year, it was the following:
- Sara Jarrett, RN, MS, MA, EdD of Colorado (Chair)
- Barbara Crane, RN, CRRN of New York
- Elizabeth Dietz, EdD, RN, CS-NP, of California
- Representative Erin Murphy, BSN, RN of Minnesota

Step 2: The task force works with the ANA Government Affairs to:
- Review candidates voting records,
- Work on drafting a questionnaire,
- Polling of Constituent Member Associations (CMA) and ANA membership for their preferred candidates, and
- Conducting interviews with the candidates.

Step 3: The ANA’s Board of Directors are given the recommendation from the PAC board (which includes the task force and their work with the ANA Government Affairs) and an endorsement process decision is made. The three options are:
- No endorsement or support of a candidate,
- Support one or more candidates during the primary elections, or
- Support of a candidate following the party nominating conventions

Step 4: “The ANA Board of Directors will vote to ratify the PAC Board’s endorsement recommendation.” This information is then communicated to ANA members, CMA’s, the candidates, and appropriate media parties.

———-

Six questions were chosen for the candidate questionnaire. Here is an example of an unanswered one. Click the names below to read the candidate’s responses in their entirety.

Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama

———-

My investigation:

Finding 1

Representative Erin Murphy (DFL 64A) has been an excellent advocate for nurses. Just recently, I wrote Strib: Minnesotans could save 12.3 billion in healthcare costs in which I mentioned Rep. Murphy’s continuing support. Since finding who served on the Presidential Endorsement Task Force, I did some searches on any personal endorsements prior to the ANA decision. My concern was for any bias before serving on the Task Force.

Clinton’s webpage specifically mentions Representative Erin Murphy’s joining of Clinton’s Minnesota Steering Committee in a January 25th press release along with nearly 50 other Minnesota legislators and community leaders. Curiously enough, this came on the same day as the ANA endorsement of Hillary Clinton. The timing was appropriate, but I wanted to find out more. Mike from Blog4President.US made the announcement of Rep. Murphy joining Clinton’s campaign on January 24th, 2008. Again, timing is very important as a personal endorsement should not come before the association endorsement, especially since Rep. Murphy was bound to ANA endorsement rationale:

However, as a professional organization ANA will consider candidates based solely on who will best serve the interests of the nursing profession and their patients. Political parties or personal agendas will not matter in this process. No political support will be offered by ANA without thoughtful analysis of a candidate’s past record and views on nursing.

Turns out, John Edwards had already received an endorsement from Representative Erin Murphy following the launch of a “Women for Edwards” campaign on May 15th, 2007. If any of you remember, John Edwards was in the race until January 30th, 2008, just five days after Murphy’s joining of Clinton’s Steering Committee. Blog4President.US also announced Murphy’s support for Edwards.

I am very proud of Rep. Murphy’s accomplishments, but I bring up these issues since I worry about any bias when choosing the candidate for an association that represents 2.9 million nurses. This is especially important since she threw her early support toward John Edwards and now Clinton, with no mention of any support for Obama. I hate to pick on her, but I could not find any information on the others serving on the Task Force.

Finding 2

Step 2 of the endorsement process involves conducting interviews with the candidates. The ANA sent questionnaires to all candidates, but only received answers from Democrats Clinton, Obama, Biden, Dodd, Edwards, Kucinich, Richardson and Republican Ron Paul.

The only candidates that participated in the interview were Clinton, Kucinich, and Richardson. This makes Clinton the only candidate who participated in the interview who was still in the race at the time of selection. Because Obama did not participate in the interview, he consequently lost points throughout the endorsement process. This is despite his strong answers on the questionnaire.

Unfortunately, according to a letter sent back to nurses who were upset about the ANA endorsement, the following are the actual results of the member-base votes*:

Clinton - 42%
Obama - 21%
McCain - 8%
Edwards - 9%, Huckabee - 8%, Romney - 5%, Guliani - 3%, Thompson - 3%, Kucinich - 1%, Paul - 1%, Biden - 0.5%, Richardson - 0.12%, Dodd - 0%, Gravel - 0%, Hunter - 0%

*Despite my frequent activity working for nursing and political issues, I was not aware of this voting and consequently, my vote was not represented in the final tally. I am curious to know what the actual numbers are.

Finding 3

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) are vocal supporters of national single-payer coverage, which Clinton’s plan lacks. In advertisements that came out prior to the endorsement, the NNOC came out in full force challenging Clinton’s healthcare plan. Check out this YouTube video of one challenge:

It is only fair to say that Obama has been challenged as well because his plan does not include single-payer coverage either.

However, Obama has been consistent with the ideal that he supports a single-payer system. From Obama’s fact check:

Obama said, “Here’s the bottom line. If I were designing a system from scratch I would probably set up a single-payer system…But we’re not designing a system from scratch…And when we had a healthcare forum before I set up my healthcare plan here in Iowa there was a lot of resistance to a single-payer system. So what I believe is we should set up a series of choices….Over time it may be that we end up transitioning to such a system. For now, I just want to make sure every American is covered…I don’t want to wait for that perfect system…The one thing you should ask about the candidates though is who’s gonna have the capacity to actually deliver on the change?…I believe I’ve got a better capacity to break the gridlock and attract both Independents and Republicans to work together.”

Finding 4

The movie SiCKO pointed out the fact that many members of Congress receive contributions from the healthcare industry. Clinton is one who has, and still receives money from many of these insiders. The CNA/NNOC concluded an analysis on contributions and released a press release last summer. This was outlined on Fierce Healthcare:

The CNA/NNOC analysis concludes that healthcare industry players contributed $3.7 million to current candidates during the first quarter of 2007. It also notes that the industry–which it defines as including drug and insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, dentists and nursing homes–spent more than $2.2 billion on federal lobbying over the past decade. By CNA/NNOC calculations, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) and Sen. John McCain (R) got the lion’s share of healthcare contributions of all presidential candidates, collecting 40 percent of the overall total.

Using data from the Center for Responsive Politics, Barack Obama receives 99% of his donations from individual contributors with a mere $25 received from PAC’s. Clinton receives 87% from individuals with over $1 million from PAC’s. She also recently donated $5 million from her own wallet to catch up with Obama’s advertising.

In an article entitled, “Deborah Burger and Maureen Caristi: Guaranteed healthcare, not just insurance,” the author’s look at the bigger problem of healthcare reform. Pieces quoted from the article:

“…simply adding more Americans into a flawed insurance system will not solve our national health care crisis. Especially when you let insurers continue to charge as much as they want, and do nothing to stop their callous, all too routine practice of denying medical treatment or blocking access to specialists or diagnostic tests because they don’t want to spend the money.

Mandating people to buy insurance is at the center of the debate on health care between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — she’s for it, he’s against it…”

“Obama has a point that the cost of insurance makes it a bad bargain for many Americans. Insurance policies now average over $12,000 per family just for the premiums, not including skyrocketing deductibles, co-pays and other costs that have made medical bills the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.”

“The individual mandate cheerleaders claim that if you don’t put everyone in the insurance pool, only the sick will buy health care and insurance companies will raise costs. Have any of them noticed that insurance premiums have gone up 87 percent nationally the past decade without a national individual mandate?

But individual mandates are popular with the insurance industry and those close to it. Insurers reap millions of new customers with minimal requirement to change their behavior. It further entrenches a broken system, expanding the reach of an industry that treats every dollar spent on care as a “medical loss ratio.”

It distorts the role of government, which should be to protect people, not act as an insurance agent.”

Finding 5

Many people across the internet are looking for the quote that Clinton apparently said about nurses being “overpaid and undereducated.” There are also rumors about her calling nurses “glorified waitresses” at one point. I scoured the net, including searching my graduate school databases with no evidence of these quotes. However, the website, Snopes, thinks they found the source for the “overpaid and undereducated” quote.

In remarks by Hillary Clinton for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (Sept. 5th, 1995 in Beijing, China), Clinton said the following,

As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace around the world - - as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and subjected to violence in and out of their homes - - the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized.

Full text and video can be found here. There were multiple statements made about nurses which could have caused this to be misinterpreted. However, many people still swear that they heard Clinton make the rumored comments.

Finding 6

Here are excerpts from the letter sent by ANA president, Rebecca Patton, in response to those against the ANA endorsement of Clinton,

In making this endorsement, the ANA Board recognized Senator Clinton’s longstanding commitment to nursing and health care. During her time in the Senate, Clinton has been an advocate for nursing issues. Clinton was in support of the Title VIII Nurse Reinvestment Act programs which provide much needed funding for nurse education. She recognizes the need for more nurse practitioners and supports increased authority for and utilization of nurse practitioners as a means of improving access to health care. She has a long history of advocacy for health care reform, and her current plan emphasizes the need to reduce costs, improve quality and ensure affordable health care for all Americans. She was a co-sponsor of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 which would improve mental health services.
From its inception in 1896 to the present day, ANA has recognized that individuals can shape health care policy consistent with the goals of registered nurses and in the best interest of their patients.

Obama’s Views:
- Regarding the Title VIII Nurse Reinvestment Act, Obama not only supports it, but he calls for greater funding in this statement:

I support reauthorization of Title VIII training programs with greater financial incentives for students and nurse faculty, including scholarships and loan repayment. Given the dire shortage of nurses, no less than $200 million should be allocated for Title VIII programs and the Nurse Reinvestment Act.

- Regarding APRN’s, Obama endorses this idea heavily in his statement,

I will support inclusion and expanded reimbursement for APRN services through federal health programs, my new public plan, and private plans offered through my plan’s National Health Insurance Exchange.

- S.558 - Obama is also a co-sponsor of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007.

- From Advance for Nurses, Kate Hartner sums up Obama’s responses,

Obama proposes: supporting minimum staffing ratios, limiting overtime, reauthorizing Title VIII training programs with scholarships and loan reimbursement, health system reform, paperless systems, supporting nursing unions and expanding APRN practice.

I think it is only fair that a rationale letter would address how Obama and Clinton differ in their views, rather than explain most of the same things the candidates agree on.

———-

Summary

Needless to say from my week of exhausting investigation, I am disappointed in the American Nurses Association. I feel they prematurely endorsed a candidate that has a history of supporting nurses, but lacks the necessary ideas for a new direction for healthcare in this country. Obama’s healthcare plan, though not single-payer, works better in this country that seems entirely focused on their wallets. Clinton has gone as far as to say she’s willing to garnish wages as an enforcement mechanism. How can we force people to purchase coverage from insurance companies, feeding into our already broken healthcare system more, then go on to say we will punish our own citizens by taking away their hard-earned money if they don’t buy? And that dubious statistic that Clinton throws out that Obama’s plan will leave out 15 million people? That was already proven false at FactCheck.org. Blueollie has another excellent analysis on this topic.

I will say that I am slightly disappointed in both candidates as they do not provide true single-payer universal healthcare. However, Obama’s plan will best address the cost control issue currently plaguing our system. Mandating insurance will frustrate consumers while limiting options for those with low incomes. The question here is… is it better to have stripped down insurance (to satisfy a mandate to have coverage), or to buy into affordable, full coverage, which includes subsidies if you do not qualify for SCHIP or Medicaid?

As a registered nurse, I wait for the day when I don’t have to tell my patient that the life-saving drug they are prescribed costs $4 a day, since I worry they will have to choose between taking the drug, or eating a meal. As a registered nurse, I wait for the day that I can treat my patients out in the community, before they end up in the hospital bed, since preventing a disease will cost much less for everyone. As a registered nurse, I wait for the day that a patient of mine can see any doctor or APRN of their choosing, without having to get prior-approval from their insurance company. As a registered nurse, I can’t wait for the day that Barack Obama becomes our next president.

It’s good to see more momentum going in the direction of Barack Obama with victories in Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington, the Virgin Islands and Maine this weekend.

In addition, Obama beat a Clinton in another competition tonight by winning a Grammy; awesome!

Momentum is clearly on the side of the Illinois senator and hopefully it will continue in that direction with victories this week in Maryland, Virginia and D.C.

I now have some personal news to report; a little full disclosure, if you will. I have accepted a position within the Minnesota House of Representatives in the Sergeant-at-Arms office. Yes, this legislative session as opposed to watching everything take place from the outside, I will be on the inside of all the action working as a committee page. I start work tomorrow.

Therefore, from now through the end of session I won’t be blogging about the legislature (for obvious reasons) nor the First or Third District Congressional races (as there are House members seeking nominations for both). I’ll still pop-in here with posts as time permits, maybe a follow up on the progress of the Sonic Drive-In being built here in Savage.

Mmm, tater tots.

In a surprising move that should upset many nurses, the American Nurses Association endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on January 25th, 2008.  Needless to say, I am still holding my belief that Barack Obama will best serve the interests of our nation when it comes to healthcare.  More criticism to come.

Via press release:

THE AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION ENDORSES
SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY)

SILVER SPRING, MD –The Clinton Campaign today announced the endorsement of the American Nurses Association (ANA). The ANA represents the interests of the nation’s 2.9 million registered nurses.

“Too many Americans must do without high quality health care, and this country deserves a president that will make health system reform a priority,” said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR. “Senator Clinton has shown a commitment to implementing real change in our health care system to ensure high quality, affordable and accessible care. She has also recognized the importance of educating, recruiting and retaining, RNs, and the need to improve the nurse’s work environment which includes addressing safe and appropriate staffing. America’s 2.9 million registered nurses represent the largest group of health care professionals. We have long advocated for the critically needed reforms vital to the improvement of health care and will use our power in the voting booth to make health care a priority.”

“I am honored to have the support of the American Nurses Association,” said Clinton. “We owe nurses a great debt of gratitude for the critical role they play every day in providing quality care. As President, I will continue to support efforts to attract and retain qualified nurses, especially in rural and urban areas, and to improve working conditions. I look forward to working with America’s nurses to deliver affordable, quality health care to every American.”

Hillary has a history of working for America’s nurses. In the Senate, Hillary introduced the Nursing Education and Quality of Care Act, which would expand the number of programs that address nursing faculty shortages and increase the supply of nurses in rural areas. As part of the Nurse Reinvestment Act, she helped create grants that expanded nurse Magnet hospitals. Hillary also supported increased funding for both Title VII and Title VIII, which help to address the higher education needs of nurses and nursing faculty. Finally, she has supported programs to attract nurses to the field, including efforts to improve the quality of the working environment for nurses.

Hillary’s American Health Choices Plan will cover all Americans and improve health care by providing consumers new choices, lowering costs and improving quality. Under Hillary’s plan, Americans who like the insurance they have can keep it and stay with their doctor. But Americans who don’t like the coverage they have will be able to pick from the same set of plans Members of Congress choose for themselves. Under Hillary’s plan, insurance companies won’t be able to deny people coverage for a pre-existing condition and tax credits will ensure that working families never have to pay more than a limited percentage of their income for quality health care. People who change jobs will be able to keep their health care.

ANA has been making presidential endorsements since 1984. The endorsement process includes sending a questionnaire on nursing and health care issues to all of the Democratic and Republican candidates, an invitation to all of the democratic and republican candidates for a personal interview and an online survey of ANA’s membership regarding which candidate is most supportive of nursing’s agenda.

# # #
The ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the interests of the nation’s 2.9 million registered nurses through its 54 constituent member nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

First District Rep. Tim Walz, who by virtue of his seat in Congress will serve as a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, which will select the party’s nominee for president, hinted toward an endorsement of Barack Obama today on NPR’s “Day to Day.”

Walz had previously been uncommitted to a presidential candidate, but Obama’s overwhelming support in Minnesota tipped him in his direction.

“I’ve felt this is the citizens and the constituents of the state’s responsibility to do this,” he said. “Our take on it was let the people make up their minds and we will cast our vote accordingly with them.”

The host then asked Walz if that meant he would be supporting Barack Obama. Walz replied that while he hasn’t yet made an official announcement he did say “today it’s becoming a little bit clearer” and “we’re definitely getting there, we’ll see how things shake out.”

[UPDATE]: Bluestem Prairie reports it’s official: Tim Walz for Obama!

A while ago I returned from Glendale Elementary School in Savage for my precinct caucus.  At this location were seven of Savage’s eight precincts and a Elko-New Market and Credit River.  Two of Savage’s traditionally low-turining precincts were initially combined into one room.  Elko, New Market, New Market Township and Credit River were all combined into one room.

I arrived at about 6:00pm to volunteer with the efforts and noticed three parking spots available.

Three.

Yes, balloting was not even scheduled to start for another 30 mins and the place was PACKED!  Cars ended up parked on sidewalks, the basketball court and in the lot of a townhome complex down the block.  I knew there would be tremendous turnout tonight but no one had any idea it would be like this.  It didn’t take long until additional sign-in sheets needed to be obtained.  Construction paper needed to be used in-place of the official ballots.

Soon Savage precincts 7 and 8 were split up, and the Elko/New Market/New Market Township/Credit River group was jammed into one room uncomfortably.

851 people cast presidential preference ballots at this one location (of four in Senate District 35).  Estimates said there may have been 600 across the ENTIRE district in 2004.

My precinct was Savage-7 (of which I am now the chair, woo-hoo!) and the final tally was 74 votes for Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton’s 38.  The entire senate district showed 1592 for Obama to 921 for Clinton.  I’m quite pleased with these results.  I wish the results from California were more in his favor, but you can’t win ‘em all.

Whatever the results from tonight though, this aint over yet!