Nurses, Legislators to Discuss Important Health Policy Issues at Annual Event

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The power of Ohio's 180,000 registered nurses will be brought to Ohio Statehouse on March 2, 2016 at the annual Nurses Day at the Statehouse. Thirty-two sponsoring organizations and over 400 nurses and students will convene in the atrium to discuss important health policy issues.  The day will feature key note speaker Janet Haebler, the American Nurses Association's senior associate director of government affairs, a panel discussion featuring the sponsoring organizations and a legislator panel featuring members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the House Health and Aging Committee.

Nurses Day at the Statehouse is presented by the Ohio Nurses Association and co-sponsored by 32 nursing organizations.  Each sponsor may discuss a policy issue important to their organization during the panel presentation.  Of particular interest this year among many of the sponsors is House Bill 216, or the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Modernization Bill.   

House Bill 216 is a hot button issue, as it seeks to eliminate barriers for APRNs to practice to the full extent of their education, training and certification. A shortage of 90,000 physicians is looming in the United States. Ohio APRNs could help plug this primary care provider shortage if Ohio joins the 22 other states and the District of Columbia who already endorse this practice.

House Bill 216 will also be discussed during the Legislator Panel, moderated by the bill's sponsor Representative Pelanda (R-Marysville).

Other important policy issues to be discussed include:

• Reducing methane emissions
• The legalization of marijuana
• Registered nurses in nursing homes
• The nursing shortage
• Mental health services reform
• Human trafficking
• The creation of a state trauma board
• The "Every Student Succeeds Act"
• The promotion of a RN circulator
• The nurse faculty shortage

Sponsoring organizations include:

• The Ohio Nurses Association
• Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses
• Ohio Emergency Nurses Association
• Ohio Association of School Nurses
• Chamberlain College of Nursing
• The Ohio State University College of Nursing
• The Ohio League for Nursing
• Case Western University
• Kent State College of Nursing
• Ohio Student Nursing Association
• University of Akron School of Nursing
• Ohio Council of Perioperative Registered Nurses
• Ohio Chapter of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

A full list of the event's sponsors is available upon request.

WHEN:  March 2, 2016, 9:00AM – 2:30pm

9:00AM Welcome

9:15AM Keynote address – Janet Haebler, American Nurses Association

10:00AM Legislator Panel

11:30AM Group Picture

12:00PM Lunch with Legislators

1:15PM Panel Presentation of Nursing Issues

2:30PM Attendee optional sessions

WHERE:  Ohio Statehouse, Atrium

About ONA: Formed in 1904, the Ohio Nurses Association is a powerful network of registered nurses who are committed to advancing nursing through education, political action and workplace advocacy. ONA is the leading voice of the approximately 190,000 professional registered nurses in Ohio. To become a member of the Ohio Nurses Association, visit www.ohnurses.org.

SOURCE Ohio Nurses Association