2004 PNAA Biennial Report

2004·2006
Philippine Nurses Association of America, Inc.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
27th Annual Convention - Boston Jun2 29, 2006
Chairperson: Filipinas J. Lowery (NY)
Co-Chairperson: Brenda Cohen (SoCA)
Members: Darlene Borromeo (NJ), Roger Bueno (NoCA), Begilda Campos (MO),
Beth Reyes(VA), Tess Servo (EI Paso, TX)
Legis/ative Committee Responsibility:
• Monitors and disseminates information regarding current legislative and
regulatory measures, initiatives and issues that directly or indirectly affect
healthcare, the nursing profession and nurses.
• Mobilizes the membership to address and take action on such legislative
and/or public policy matters of concern, in collaboration with other
organizations/agencies.
Nursing's Agenda for the Future (NAF):
A detailed report was presented in June 2002 on Nursing's Agenda for the Future
(NAF) by Filipinas Lowery who represented PNAA at the S.ummit conference on
September 8-11, 2001 in Washington, D.C. In response to the nation's dilemma of
decreased nurse staffing and predictions of an unprecedented shortage of nurses
in the next decade, national nursing organizations, including PNAA, have united
around a shared vision for the future of the profession and developed a strategic
plan to address the complex, interrelated factors that have created a growing
shortage of nurses. PNAA's NAF work plan is directed towards developing
leadership, communication, assertiveness and persuasion skills as a major focus
of educational programs. Leadership development programs have been
incorporated at national, regional and local conferences. However, implementation
and monitoring of our mentorship programs need to be streamlined. Some major
NAF strategies & legislative actions include:
• Increased media publicity to raise awareness of impact of nurse staffing on
patient safety in regulatory, public & private sectors, as well as market nursing
to future nurses through J&J sponsored TV Ads "Dare to Care".
• Legislative hot issues that require our support and immediate' action:
www.anapoliticalpower.org
o Urge your Senators to invest in nursing by increasing funding for Nursing
Workforce Development.
o Ask your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Registered Nurse Safe
Staffing Act of 2005 (S-71) and Quality Nursing Care Act of 2005 {HR
1372}.
o Urge your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Medicaid Advanced
Practice Nurses and Physician Assistants Access Act (H.R. 27161 S.1515)
to expand Medicaid coverage of services provided by APRNs.
• Victory on S.1955! Thanks to everyone's hard work the bill was not passed, as
reported by Brenda Cohen. The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization
and Affqrdability Act of 2005 would have eliminated important health insurance
protections and make health insurance more expensive for older and unhealthy
individuals.