FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/March 5, 1998 CONTACT: Michael Stewart [202/651-7048]; Sara Foer [202/651-7023]; http://www.nursingworld.org ANA Applauds Introduction of Patient Safety and Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) today applauded the introduction of the Patient Safety and Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998, federal legislation that aims to provide whistle-blower protections for registered nurses (RNs) and other health care professionals and workers who speak out about patient care issues. The bipartisan proposed legislation, to be introduced soon by United States Representatives Mark Foley (R-16th FL) and Ron Klink (D-4th PA), is congruent with the ANA's long-standing goal of ensuring patient safety. As America's largest full-service professional nursing organization, the ANA represents the nation's 2.6 million registered nurses through its 53 constituent associations. ANA interim executive director Argene Carswell, JD, RN, spoke today at a press conference to announce the pending introduction of the bill. "The ANA has a long history of advocating on behalf of safe, quality patient care," she said. "For several years, we have been at the forefront of the movement to free nurses to speak out on behalf of those for whom they care. We are strong supporters of the Patient Safety Act of 1997 (H.R. 1165), introduced by Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-26th NY). That bill also calls for whistle-blower protections. Clearly, this important issue has drawn the attention of key members of Congress on both sides of the aisle." "The ANA looks forward to working with Representatives Foley and Klink -- as well as sponsors of other, related legislation," she continued. "Together, we must bring to patients this vital protection. We must enable nurses to speak out freely on patients' behalf without fear of reprisal." In addition to supporting the Patient Safety Act of 1997 and Representatives Foley and Klink's proposed legislation, ANA nurse leaders serve on President Clinton's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry. The Commission's recommended "Consumer Bill of Rights and Responsibilities" includes patient advocacy protections that are strongly supported by the ANA. Barry Adams, RN, a member of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, knows first-hand what being a whistle-blower can mean. Adams was fired in 1996 from a Cambridge, MA, hospital after he and two other nurses documented several incidents of patient neglect and substandard care due to inadequate staffing on the evening shift. His employer claimed he had been terminated due to insubordination. In November of last year, however, an administrative law judge found no evidence to support the employer's charge, and concluded that Adams' termination was "motivated by the respondents' desire to silence him and retaliate against him for concerted protected activities." The hospital has appealed the judge's ruling. In the meantime, Adams' has a civil suit pending in the Suffolk (MA) Superior Court. The suit claims that in advocating for his patients and raising issues about their safety, Adams was doing what Massachusetts law says he is obligated to do as a licensed RN. Adams' civil case speaks to the situation faced by any nurse who acts alone to address unsafe practice conditions that conflict with his or her legal and ethical responsibilities as an RN. The nation's 2.6 million RNs are the nation's largest health care profession. The front-line health care they provide impacts on nearly every American stricken with an illness or injury--anyone who enters a hospital or otherwise encounters America's rapidly changing health care system. Therefore, RNs are in a unique position to note lapses in the quality of care that threaten patients, and these professionals must be free to express their concerns over issues of patient safety. The whistle-blower legislation to be introduced by Representatives Foley and Klink, along with the tireless work of others in Congress, can give all health care professionals and workers the protection they need--a protection ultimately needed by all of America's ill and injured.
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