Important information and ACTION NEEDED- Legislative efforts re Nurse Licensure Compact

Posted about 4 years ago by Wendy Grbach

Hello TRC-AACN Members,

Please review the following information and consider reaching out to your legislators as indicated.This information is provided from the PA Organization for Nurse Leaders (PONL)

Urgent Action Needed for Senate Bill 115

Please see HAP’s urgent update below in the message in regards to Senate Bill 115 (SB 115), which would allow PA to join 34 other states in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). Please contact as many members of the House Professional Licensure Committee and urge them to VOTE YES on SB 115, as proposed, without amendments! SB 115 passed the Senate after attempts were made to insert amendments that have absolutely nothing to do with joining the NLC. Senate Bill 115 is now referred to the House Professional Licensure Committee for a vote. HAP believes that there will be another attempt to insert these unrelated and unnecessary "nurse staffing report" amendments, which will result in killing Senate Bill 115, because the language exceeds that which should be part of the NLC.

Please read the HAP alert below and contact members of the PA House Professional Licensure Committee and ask them to support SB 115 as it is introduced, without any amendments. See below for a sample script for your message to the legislators. There are also links to valuable information & resources. Pennsylvania nurses have the RIGHT to join our 34 other colleagues in being a member of the NLC. Do not allow amendments, proposed for ulterior reasons, hamstring our ability to join the NLC!

Thank you, The PONL Legislation Committee

HAP’s information about Senate Bill 115 (SB 115) SB 115, sponsored by Senator Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton), creates the needed flexibility to support the health care workforce and changing health care delivery system. The proposal would:

• Provide opportunities for interstate practice by nurses who meet uniform licensure requirements.

• Facilitate the exchange of information between party states for nurse regulation, investigation, and adverse actions.

• Promote compliance with the laws governing the practice of nursing in each jurisdiction.

• Invest all party states with the authority to hold a nurse accountable for meeting all state practice laws in the state in which the patient is located at the time care is rendered through the mutual recognition of party state licenses.

• Decrease redundancies in the consideration and issuance of nurse licenses. This legislation allows Pennsylvania to join 34 other states in the Nurse Licensure Compact, a multistate agreement that allows nurses to practice across state lines.

Please contact members of the state House Professional Licensure Committee and ask them to support SB 115 without amendments. HAP anticipates efforts by certain legislators to attempt to amend SB115 to include mandated “nurse staffing reports” by hospitals. Don’t let it happen!

You can help to prevent this by contacting members of the House Professional Licensure Committee: Contact Rep. David Hickernell, Chair, House Professional Licensure Committee https://www.pahouseformcenter.com/324/RepDaveHickernell/SecureContact. Contact Rep. Jake Wheatley, Jr., Democratic Chair, House Professional Licensure Committee https://www.pahouse.com/19/Contact/ Check the House Professional Licensure Committee member list and see if your local legislator is on the committee. https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?Code=34&CteeBody=H

Sample Script or Email: "My name is [NAME] and I am [TITLE] at [HOSPITAL/HEALTH SYSTEM], I am calling/emailing to ask Representative [NAME] to support Senate Bill 115 as introduced, which would increase patient access to care and support the commonwealth’s health care workforce needs by allowing Pennsylvania to join 34 other states in the Nurse Licensure Compact Additionally, I am asking the Representative to oppose any amendments which would mandate staffing reports by hospitals [USE 1-2 OF THE STAFFING REPORT TALKING POINTS BELOW] Can I count on Representative [NAME] to support SB 115 as introduced?"

Thank you

Hospital Staffing Report Talking Points: Nurses are a key part of the health care teams that provide excellent care to Pennsylvania’s patients. These teams employ a number of collaborative best practices to ensure that everyone gets the specialized attention they need while they are in the hospital. The reporting that is most important to the nurse-patient relationship is the one that nurses give at the end of their shifts. This in-person, personalized report provides critical information to the incoming nurse and patient—and offers the patient and family an opportunity to ask questions. It is vital to patient safety and well-being. When we begin to place stringent, one-size-fits-all mandates on how these teams are formed, we shift our focus away from the patients our health care teams serve. Staffing reports bog down patient care with excess bureaucracy and administrative burden, further distracting our health care teams from the critical work of caring for everyone who needs it. COVID-19 has shown us that hospitals need flexibility to ensure that they can adapt to quickly changing scenarios. Staffing reports are a slippery slope into a rigid health care system that treats nurses and patients as numbers, instead of the individuals who give and receive care.

Other Resources: Fact Sheet: Pennsylvania’s Nurses are More than Just a Number Memo: HAP support memo to Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee