Maryland Nurse Journal - July 2022
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<strong>July</strong>, August, September <strong>2022</strong> The <strong>Maryland</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Journal</strong> • Page 3<br />
ANA/MNA News<br />
ANA Hill Day<br />
Charlotte M. Wood, PhD, MSN, MBA, MSL, RN, CDA<br />
ANA Hill day started at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 9, <strong>2022</strong>, with breakfast<br />
and registration, followed by a “Welcome” from ANA President Dr. Ernest Grant.<br />
We enjoyed our keynote speaker, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40), who<br />
engaged in a conversation regarding current issues in nursing and healthcare,<br />
and the importance of advocacy. This activity was followed by a federal<br />
legislative overview from Samuel Hewitt and Kristina Weger, Principals, Federal<br />
Government Affairs for ANA.<br />
On Hill Day, the American <strong>Nurse</strong>s Association (ANA) continued efforts<br />
to amplify the voices of nurses through conversations with our Congressional<br />
representatives and their legislative aides as they considered and debated public<br />
policy that will affect the essential functions of registered nurses (RN) and<br />
healthcare in America. The agenda proceeded with a “<strong>Nurse</strong>s-Call-to-Action,”<br />
the logistics for the Capitol Hill meetings, and was followed by various groups<br />
speaking to their congressional representatives via Zoom while others headed out<br />
to Capitol Hill.<br />
National legislative priorities were as follows:<br />
• Valuing the Nursing Workforce (dealing with a discussion of burn-out,<br />
prevention of workplace violence, and prohibiting the use of mandatory<br />
overtime).<br />
• Advanced Practice Registered <strong>Nurse</strong>s (removing barriers to full practice<br />
authority and support or co-sponsor the “I Can Act” bill that will be coming<br />
in <strong>July</strong>) and,<br />
• Improving Senior’s Timely Access to Care Act of 2021 (Providing care<br />
that streamlines and prioritizes prior authorization under the Medicare<br />
Advantage Program…S.3018/H.R. 3173) co-sponsored by 296 legislators.<br />
Many national legislative priorities also aligned with the state of <strong>Maryland</strong>’s<br />
legislative initiatives. The ANA has been relentless in advocating on behalf<br />
of the country’s RNs who have been caring for our nation’s most vulnerable<br />
and those who lack access to healthcare. The ANA and the members of the<br />
membership assembly spoke about the nursing staffing crisis, improving access<br />
to healthcare, removing practice barriers, workforce development, and addressing<br />
reimbursement for APRNs to have “same service, same pay.”<br />
As your “Membership Assembly” representatives, we were happy to serve<br />
you on Capitol Hill ensuring that our national legislative representatives from<br />
<strong>Maryland</strong> supported all nursing priorities and major initiatives. Thank you all for<br />
allowing us to represent you.<br />
MNA’s Update at A Glance<br />
Dr. Christie Simon-Waterman, MNA President<br />
1. Office Space: The MNA Board and President<br />
have appointed an Office Resiliency Workgroup<br />
(WOR) to assess MNA’s office space functionally<br />
and identify cost-effective ways to optimize office<br />
space. Special thank you to the WOR members:<br />
Lou Bartolo (District 5 President), Nayna Philipsen<br />
(MNA Treasurer-Elect), Alita-Geri Carter (District<br />
5 Treasurer), Vann Joyner (District 2 Treasurer), and<br />
Marshada Chapman (District 2 Finance Committee).<br />
2. ANA: A big event for MNA in June was<br />
the ANA Membership Assembly, June 10-12 in<br />
Washington, D.C. https://www.nursingworld.org/ana/<br />
Lou Bartolo<br />
leadership-and-governance/membership-assembly/.<br />
Attending the ANA Membership Assembly in June was a key opportunity<br />
for members to share concerns and priorities with the ANA Board of Directors.<br />
Attending on behalf of MNA were MNA President Christie Simon-Waterman,<br />
Charlotte Wood, Donna Zankowski; Linda Stierle, Mary Jean Schumann,<br />
Rosemary Mortimer, and Jacqueline Patterson.<br />
3. MNA Advocacy in Annapolis: As the <strong>2022</strong> 90-Day annual Legislative<br />
Session ended in Annapolis, the MNA Legislative Committee and MNA’s<br />
Lobbyist, Public Policy Partners, are collating the enormous number of bills that<br />
would impact nursing and patient care and on which MNA took a position. These<br />
will be published by MNA and available to members upon request.<br />
4. LMNO: MNA has long hosted an outstanding group of <strong>Maryland</strong> nursing<br />
organizations to address common concerns. Formerly called the League of<br />
<strong>Maryland</strong> Nursing Organizations (LMNO), this is now the League of <strong>Maryland</strong><br />
Nursing Associations (LMNA). Its post-Pandemic renewal is led by Rosemary<br />
Mortimer, a former MNA President.<br />
5. APRN Workgroup - MNA is working with other organizations, nurse<br />
leaders, and APRNs to have robust discussions regarding the APRN compact.<br />
MNA’s past President Neysa Ernst will facilitate these discussions.<br />
6. MNA Ethics Hotline: The MNA Center for Ethics and Human Rights has<br />
activated an electronic “hotline.” <strong>Nurse</strong>s can now request guidance in addressing<br />
ethical issues and be assured of a confidential and de-identified response. The<br />
email address for the Hotline is MNA.Ethics@marylandrn.org.<br />
7. MNA Convention: The 119th MNA Annual Convention will be on October<br />
6 and 7, <strong>2022</strong>, at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum. Go to the MNA website to<br />
nominate an outstanding colleague for an MNA Award.<br />
From (L) to (R): Dr. M. Bell, Dr. C. Simon-Waterman, Ms. M. Okwusogu,<br />
Dr. P. Travis, Dr. C. Wood, & Ms. R. Mortimer.
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