OPEIU Nurses Take Capitol Hill to Demand Nurse Safe Staffing Legislation

"It's Your Health, Your Families and Your Constituents We're Fighting to Protect"

News provided by

Office and Professional Employees International Union, AFL-CIO (OPEIU)

May 02, 2017, 15:53 ET

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nurse members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, from around the country will descend on Capitol Hill on Friday, May 5, 2017, to meet with their legislators and demand safe nurse to patient ratio legislation aimed at protecting nurses, patients and their families.

The nurses, represented by the OPEIU Nurses Council (ONC), will also participate in the Nurses Take DC Rally for Safe Nurse to Patient Ratios, joining an anticipated 10,000 nurses from around the country who are gathering to raise public awareness of the dangers posed by unsafe nurse staffing levels in hospitals and medical clinics. ONC Vice Chair Julie Murray, RN, is among the scheduled speakers.

"Nurses are on the front lines of patient safety, and yet they are increasingly being asked to do more with less resources," said ONC Chair Paige Yates. "Often, hospital administration and corporate CEOs don't listen to their concerns and patients' lives are put at risk, not to mention the safety and health of the nursing professionals themselves.

"Legislation for national nurse to patient ratios has been stalled by big money and associations that care less about nurses and their patients and more about profits. That's why OPEIU nurses will be there on Friday, to demand our legislators listen to the largest healthcare workforce in the United States – nurses – and mandate safe nurse to patient ratios in their states," Yates continued. "Our elected officials have to understand that it's their health, their families and their constituents that we're fighting to protect."

ABOUT THE OPEIU NURSES COUNCIL

The OPEIU Nurses Council (ONC) was established by OPEIU members who are nurses, giving them a means to participate in the resolution of issues affecting their nursing practice. The ONC helps foster a climate of professionalism within the nursing community, promoting best practices regarding patient care, safety concerns and compensation issues. The ONC advocates for legislation to improve working conditions and improve patient care, including measures that address nurse to patient ratios and violence against health care workers. Its primary goal is to advance the professional image of the nursing profession.

ABOUT OPEIU

The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) represents more than 103,000 members in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, including more than 10,000 nurses and healthcare professionals. OPEIU represents employees and independent contractors in administrative offices, credit unions, hospitals and medical clinics, insurance, higher education, transportation, shipping, utilities, hotels and more. Professional organizations and Guilds affiliated with OPEIU are a diverse group that includes podiatrists, clinical social workers, teachers, Minor League Baseball umpires, and helicopter pilots.

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SOURCE Office and Professional Employees International Union, AFL-CIO (OPEIU)