Idaho - February 2022

Page 6 • RN Idaho February, March, April 2022
ANA NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE REPORT
Dori Healey MSN, MBA, RN
ANAI President
The American Nurses Association (ANA) held its annual Leadership Conference in
December using a virtual platform. The meeting focused on participation by state nursing
association presidents, presidents-elect and the state association executive directors, to
solicit information about their status and what impact ANA national activities have had
on the states. Leaders from each state association and from the national level review
annual political activities and accomplishments, major issues in each state, the financial
and membership numbers, and openly discuss policy positions taken by the ANA and
any subsequent impact on state associations. This report will focus on membership
sustainability, legislative forecasting, and leadership development.
Membership Sustainability
Membership is a key issue for any association in the United States. Unless the
association maintains an active membership, it will cease to exist. Sustainability
depends on the value proposition that members get from belonging. The COVID
pandemic has had a good effect on ANA. Nurses have joined ANA, and their state
affiliate associations like ANA-Idaho, in increasing numbers and the current ANA
membership is at an all-time high. Why have we seen this membership interest? As
many nurse’s face crisis-level staffing numbers, workloads, environmental concerns
about exposure and increasing instances of workplace violence, ANA has stepped
up to provide nurses with evidenced based information and resources about COVID,
immunizations, PPE, and ethical issues. The support that ANA has exhibited to nurses
on a national level is phenomenal.
Representing ANA-Idaho, we were excited to report that we had supported nurses
through the pandemic with reasonably priced online continuing education credits,
opened ANA-Idaho membership to LPNs to support their continuing needs and
professional development, and we offered an in person legislative conference in
alignment with nurses’ day at the capitol. It was exciting to share what we had done
to support our nurses in Idaho during this turbulent two years and that our ANA-Idaho
membership has continued to grow!
Legislative Forecasting
Time was spent reviewing key legislation and policies anticipated at the state and
federal level in 2022, and what levels of support for nursing issues are demonstrated by
our elected representatives and senators. Based on the reported exodus of nurses from
hospital employment and the numbers of nurses who are retiring earlier than expected,
there will be a push for funding nursing education to re-supply the nursing workforce by
increased enrollments that will require increased faculty.
Many states are looking ahead at 2022 legislation regarding assault on healthcare
workers. In Idaho, this is legislation already exists, and has been supported in the
Legislature by all the nursing associations. It was interesting to hear about the barriers
other states are encountering. We shared how Idaho was successful in passing
this law several years ago by collaborating with the medical association and other
professional nursing organizations. In 2020, there was an unsuccessful attempt to
repeal the law that makes violence against a healthcare worker while they are on-duty
a felony, but groups who felt that a “temporary insanity” plea should exempt offenders
from the law. Nurses offered testimony to sustain the law and the bill to repeal never
made it out of committee.
At the federal level, there is legislation actively being pursued to continue supporting
telehealth services and enhancing mental health access. This bill would remove the
geographical barriers associated with telehealth services and expand services to
many underserved areas thus allowing increased access to mental health services.
While this sounds good in terms of patient access, there remains many issues when
providers who are not licensed in the state can come into the state via telehealth and
provide services. For example, how do they source patients and do all patients have
equal access to the services of these telehealth providers regardless of their insurance
payment status? If telehealth providers can choose to care for patients based on their
ability to pay for services, then some patients are disenfranchised, and Idaho providers
could be left to care for a disproportionate number of uninsured.
In Idaho, we do not anticipate any mandatory staffing numbers legislation like other
states are facing. We also do not anticipate any regulatory issues that will impact nursing.
Our state focus will be on supporting nursing faculty retention and faculty salaries that are
comparable to what nurses make in clinical positions. We anticipate attending Hill Day
in Washington DC in June and meet with our senators and representatives. Historically
we have had to meet with their junior staff members who are not overly informed about
nursing issues. Only Senator Risch has taken the time to meet with nurses personally in
the past four years of visits.
Leadership Development
As a learning activity, leaders were led in discussions on diversity, inclusivity, and
belonging with opportunities to recognize each of our own personal characteristics
that influence personal and organizational change. Recognizing and building attributes
to inclusive leadership for all areas of leaders regardless of formal or informal leadership
were some key takeaways. We were further challenged to consider how to include these
concepts in our state-based programs. This is an important national awareness, but
Idaho, like many small and rural states, is challenged with these activities because of
our less diverse population and even lower percentage of diversity amongst our nursing
workforce.
Collaborating and brainstorming ideas for the future of nursing was instructive.
Leaders discussed and imagined a future healthcare structure with evolving
technology, working at the top full scope of licensure, and evolving license
methodologies. Part of the discussion was listening to how other states utilized
non-nurse healthcare personal to care for patients because of critical nursing staff
shortages. Each state agreed that continued collaboration with state boards of
nursing and advocating for all nurses and differentiating between essential nursing
duties and non-essential nursing duties is vital.
The week was spent learning and engaging with other states and reflecting on
lessons we have learned from the past two years. While each state has been impacted
in a different way, we do share many similarities. An important outcome of this meeting
was to gauge an understanding of what other states are experiencing, legislation that
may be impacting healthcare, and to network with leaders from all over the nation. It was
three days well spent learning from leaders in every state. It was comforting to know that
Idaho does not have all the complex issues that others are having to manage, and for the
issues that we do face, we are not in this alone.