However, none of these initiatives will have lasting impact. At the root of the present crisis is an industry that strategically implemented a plan to garner profit in an ever tightening financial noose, while slashing budgets for direct care providers and almost all adjunctive roles, at the cost of safe, quality care for patients. The healthcare industry must make dramatic and comprehensive attempts to restore nurses practice and working conditions to those that are safe and beneficial for nurses and their patients. The MNA has and will continue to prioritize effective solutions and firmly reject any mechanism that forces the abdication of our duty to protect nurses and advocate for patients. These solutions must be aggressively pursued in every venue possible.
Legislation is a key element of our strategy.
This issue of the Massachusetts Nurse features a rundown of all the different legislative intiatives the MNA has proposed for the coming year. It is an impressive agenda. But this is only one piece of the puzzle. The underlying cause of mandatory overtime and most of the ills in nursing today are driven by understaffing. Every nurse in the Commonwealth needs to learn about this legislation and to join with us in advocating for its passage this year.