The following bills are Maryland Nurses Coalition Bills. The outcome updates for each bill, during the Legislative Session are at the bottom of the each bill's section.

1. HOUSE BILL 1224

Sponsored By:

Delegate Nathan-Pulliam, Delegates Benson, Bobo, Branch, Donoghue, Hucker, Lafferty, Levy, Malone, McDonough, Montgomery, and V. Turner

 

Entitled: Hospitals - Nursing Care Committees, Staffing Plans, and Commission on Nursing Acuity

Synopsis:

Develop a Governor's Commission which will review specific information and policies in other states which have removed the financial incentive to have nurses work with more patients than is sometimes safe - increasing quality of care.

Requiring specified facilities to provide the Health Services Cost Review Commission with specified information; requiring hospitals to create a nursing care committee that performs specified duties; requiring hospitals to adopt and implement a specified written staffing plan; requiring a hospital to give consideration to specified factors when adopting and implementing the staffing plan; establishing the Commission on Nursing Acuity; etc.

Link: http://mlis.state.md.us/2008RS/filecode/J3.htm

UPDATE:

This bill was pulled on the day of the testimony but may be resubmitted next year. The Nursing Magazine, Advances in Nursing wrote a nice article about this bill. Unfortunately, those who opposed this bill which would carve nursing care out of Maryland's Bed Fee engaged in a mis-information campaign.

The  opponents of the bill spread rumors that this bill was a ratio bill - when in fact, this was not a ratio bill whatsoever.

Please stay posted for updates and contact the Maryland Nurses Coalition if you would like to watch the hearings or testify at 410-807-6242.

Link: http://mlis.state.md.us/2008RS/billfile/sb0765.htm

UPDATE:

Link: http://mlis.state.md.us/2008rs/billfile/hb0546.htm

UPDATE:

HB 546 and HB 199 were combined into one bill under HB 199. This bill passed, unanimously in the House of Delegates and the State Senate.  The Governor supported this bill!

We want to Thank the Maryland Nurses Coalition's partners in this effort to create a healthier school environment for children. Our partners included the American Autistic Self-Advocacy organizing, Med Chi and the Bill's Sponsor, Delegate Anne Kaiser from Montgomery County.

4. HOUSE BILL 1334 - PASSED WITH SUMMER STUDY

Link: http://mlis.state.md.us/2008RS/filecode/J2.htm

UPDATE:

This bill is designed to protect nurses. Testimony was given to support the passage of this bill and is listed below. The testimony by the Maryland Nurses Coalition ensured that this issue is being studied through the summer so, that, the problems which nurses' face will be addressed and rectified. 

       HB 1334 - SUPPORT

     February 22, 2008

Dear Chairman Hammen, Vice Chair Pendergrass and Committee Members:

The Maryland Nurses Coalition is a professional nursing organization representing the 60,000 plus nurses in the State of Maryland. As we advocate for our profession, we have long been concerned with the need to protect nursing licenses; especially in light of the nursing shortage.

It is a known fact that complaints have been made against nurses for reasons other than improper medical attention, unprofessional conduct towards a patient, or obvious malpractice. It is a fact that sometimes estranged spouses, disgruntled co-workers, and others have made unfounded complaints against nurses, which have unjustifiably jeopardized their nursing license. In one case, a nurse was denied the renewal of her license because her vindictive separating spouse refused to pay their joint taxes as he had done in the past and a failure to pay taxes is a ground to deny a license. This is an abuse of power and unjustified arrogance that would create this type of situation, particularly in a time of a dire nursing shortage. What is the causal connection of paying taxes to imparting the best health care for patients?  None.  HB 1334 will remedy this abuse.

Moreover, the current system allows for complaints to be made which do not have the same veracity required in a court of law. We are pleased that this bill will require that a sworn affidavit accompany all complaints against nurses. Additionally, we fully support that complaints may only be made of first hand knowledge instances and that there will be a statute of limitations imposed for the same reasons we have in other legal matters.

We support the bill's requirement of due process, with the Attorney General’s Office and the Administrative Law Offices contributing their due process regulations. With this a nurse will be able to have an independent party representing his or her interests and license. Additionally, this bill will address the fundamental unfairness of having the investigator be the “prosecutor and jury” because the investigator gets to see confidential information that is not available to the accused and literally sits with the prosecutor at the table.

Again, the bill addresses the previously ignored but critical issue of having an investigator with experience in the "standard of care” and has some reasonable level of professional nursing knowledge base as the accused. This is imperative to ensure that an investigator fully understands the issue and level of care level under which the complaint is made.

Lastly, we are pleased to see that HB 1344 will finally address the lack of racial and geographical diversity of the Maryland Board of Nursing.

Please Support HB 1334 as a means to equitably balance the rights of the accused Nurses in your District.