Silencing those who are closest to patients and most trusted by patients is wrong. The American people will not stand for it. Currently, legislation providing whistle blower protections for nurses has been passed in four states and similar legislation has been introduced in 18 other states. The Patient Safety Act calls for federal protection. Make no mistake.
Health care is big business.
Mergers and acquisitions in health care continue with little regard to their impact on communities. The Patient Safety Act requires consideration of these factors as health care increasingly behaves like the big business it has become. We hope that hospitals and other facilities will join ANA in championing this bill. There is not a single item in the Patient Safety Act that should be objectionable to a health care organization. The Act simply seeks to have these organizations tell us who is providing care, how patients fare under that care, and that health care practitioners will not be retaliated against for speaking up on behalf of safety.