Massachusetts Nurses Association Endorses Marian Ryan for Re-Election as Middlesex District Attorney

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Aug 27, 2018, 10:23 ET

CANTON, Mass., Aug. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the state's largest union and professional association for registered nurses and health care professionals, announces its endorsement of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan in her bid for re-election.

"We are thrilled to stand with Marian Ryan in her re-election campaign," said Donna Kelly-Williams, a registered nurse at Cambridge Hospital and President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. "Marian has been a strong advocate for reducing violence in the health care workplace and for appropriate measures when health care workers are assaulted on the job. She also stands with nurses in support of Question 1 and safe patient limits. We look forward to continuing this important work when she is re-elected."

"I am truly honored to have the support of the Massachusetts Nurses Association," DA Ryan said. "Every single hour of every single day, MNA nurses and health care professionals are working to provide comfort and healing to those who need it. MNA members are extraordinary partners in our shared fight against the opioid crisis. The results we have achieved simply would not be possible without these outstanding professionals. I'm very grateful to them and I look forward to working with them in the years to come."

Ryan has served as the District Attorney for Middlesex County since 2013. She has worked closely with nurses in her district and the MNA on issues ranging from workplace violence to tackling the opioid crisis. In 2017, Ryan testified at the Massachusetts State House before the Joint Committee on Public Safety in support of proposed legislation to strengthen the penalties on individuals who assault a nurse or other health care provider. She has also advocated for legislation filed by the MNA that would require workplace violence prevention programs in health care facilities.

The District Attorney has pledged support for Question 1, which would set a safe maximum limit on the number of hospital patients a registered nurse cares for at one time, depending on patient acuity. Question 1 was written by nurses, based on their experience caring for patients in all different types of hospital settings around Massachusetts. They were also informed by decades of independent studies that show safe patient assignments for nurses reduce medical errors, injuries, re-admissions and death. This question will appear on the Nov. 6, 2018 ballot.

The Middlesex District Attorney is the chief law enforcement officer for 54 cities and towns and represents a population of 1.6 million people. The primary election will be held on Tuesday, September 4.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association