On April 16, 2019, Washington State Senator Maureen Walsh (R-Wala Wala) made offensive comments about nurses who work in small hospitals, suggesting that nurses in critical access hospitals “probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day.” Her comments came when she was arguing her support for an amendment that would exempt rural critical access hospitals, along with hospitals that have less than 25 beds from a bill called SHB 1155.

A large number of nurses in the United States found her comments demeaning and ignorant, and instead of sitting by, nurses rallied together to support nurses in the state of Washington. Petitions and comments were circulating the following weekend, some demanding the senator to resign, while others suggesting for the senator to shadow a nurse for a day.

Some nurses even took their issues to the government and organized a rally on Wednesday, April 24th, to support an amended version of the proposed SHB 115. They demanded the removal of two amendments to the bill that would limit a nurse’s shift to 8-hours and would exempt nurses in smaller hospitals.

Both of these amendments would negatively impact a nurse’s livelihood. Just because a nurse works in a smaller hospital, doesn’t mean that they aren’t just as busy as a nurse in a larger hospital. Allowing mandatory overtime and interrupted meal and rest breaks can severely affect a nurse’s mental and physical well-being. It’s also already difficult to hire nurses in these areas, and including this amendment in the bill would only make it even more difficult.

And also, limiting a nurse’s shift to only 8 hours can affect their livelihood. Nurses would need to work five 8-hour days a week in order to earn a full week’s pay, and they wouldn’t be able to stay longer than 8 hours, even for emergencies or if it concerned patient safety. It’s a standard practice for nurses to work at least three 12-hour shifts a week, and this schedule was developed at nurses’ request.

After her comments, Walsh has issued a public apology, reciting that she had the “greatest respect for nurses” and that her mother was a registered nurse for several years.

She also tried to shed some light on what she actually meant with her comments. Her public statement also said, “The comment made about the ability to play cards was referring to the staff at the very rural and small critical access hospitals who may only serve a handful of patients and the staffing mandates are unnecessary […] The fact is 61% of our critical access hospitals are in the red and the mandated breaks and lunch hours are not an issue in these facilities across the state. These are smaller, rural hospitals with much fewer patients than our hospitals and the bill is not necessary for them in meeting the needs of their patients or the hospital’s budget.”

However, what she said isn’t necessarily true. Organizations like the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) challenged her claims with data from the Washington Department of Health. They showed that a majority of critical access hospitals had a net income in the millions or more over a 4-year period. Also, the WSNA showed that about 70% of hospitals in Washington operate under a surplus. Most of these hospitals with a surplus can even afford to bring another nurse or technician.

What happened since the rally?

Because of the massive support from nurses nationwide, Sen. Maureen Walsh has agreed to shadow a nurse for one 12-hour shift in the coming future. The petition by Juliana Bindas has reached over 800,000 signatures on Change.org. It’s also still going, with a new goal in mind for 1,000,000 signatures!

The bill was also revised, following Walsh’s public apology, to remove both of the amendments that exempt critical access hospitals and limit shifts to 8 hours. With these revisions, it has moved forward from the House to Governor Jay Inslee’s desk, and he has promised to sign the bill to law.

Governor Inslee said at the nurses rally in Washington, “After so many years with your effort and our effort, I really look forward to passing a nursing staff bill this year so we can give you the breaks you deserve. And I think in large part of your efforts, and your advocacy, and your gentle persuasion, we’re looking forward to getting that job done.”

References:

• https://nurse.org/articles/Washington-state-nurse-bill-passes-no-8-hour-limit/

• https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/20/politics/washington-state-senator-nurse-remarks/index.html