Alaska Nurses Association News
Alaska Nurses Association
General Assembly Resolutions 2007
Alaska Nurses Association
2007 Resolution #2
Priorities for the 2008 Alaska Legislative Session
Be it resolved that for the coming year the following will be the priorities for the Alaska Nurses Association's legislative efforts:
Ban on mandatory overtime;
Efforts to make workplaces safer and to support safe patient handling;
Work to ensure the Alaska Nurse Practice Act is not amended in such a way as to negatively impact nursing practice or compromise patient care;
Working to improve Alaska's disaster preparedness and;
Efforts to expand the number of Alaskans who can obtain health insurance through expansion of Denali KidCare program and supporting new and innovative programs that would make health insurance affordable for most Alaskans.
__X___ Adopted
Alaska Nurses Association
2007 Resolution #3
Efforts to Make Health Care Insurance Affordable for Alaskans
Whereas an unacceptable number of Alaskans are currently not covered by health insurance and;
Whereas each year more Alaskan businesses and individuals are forced to drop health insurance coverage because of the cost and;
Whereas health care expenses are one of the leading causes for individuals to file for bankruptcy and;
Whereas lack of insurance coverage leads people to avoid treatment until an illness or injury is severe and;
Whereas the burden of having to pay for unpaid health claims is placing a severe financial burden on Alaska's hospitals and health care providers;
Be it resolved that the Alaska Nurses Association will be involved in efforts to find an innovative way to make health insurance affordable for business and individuals and will support legislation that the Association feels will meet this goal. Such proposals may involve shared financial contributions from individuals, businesses and the government. During all these efforts that Association will work to make sure that nurses are an important player in making decisions about health care and their services are reimbursed by any system that is supported.
___X__Adopted
RESOLUTION #4
Offered by the Alaska School Nurses Association
October 15, 2007
The Alaska School Nurses Association asks that AaNA support the school nurse's role in a collaborative school health model in Alaska, as discussed in the ANA position statement, Assuring Safe, High Quality Health Care in Pre-K Through 12 Educational Settings, (adopted by the ANA Board of Directors in March 16, 2007)
WHEREAS, although school nurse to student ratios are adequate in the Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough school districts, theses ratios are either very high, or there are no school nurses at all in many other parts of the state; and
WHEREAS, ANA and the National Association of School Nurses recommend at least one nurse per 750 students, with modified ratios of fewer students per school nurse, depending on severity of disabilities within the student population; and
WHEREAS, the ANA, in 2006, issued a Joint Statement on Nursing Delegation with The National Council on State Boards of Nursing, in which delegation in the educational setting was addressed specifically, and the importance of lawful school nursing practice as per each state's Nurse Practice Act was emphasized; and
WHEREAS, Alaska is one of the very few states in the country that does not have a State School Nurse Consultant position, which fills an important roll as a liaison between state health and educational agencies and all school nurses, school nurse administrators, policy makers concerned with overall school health and wellness, disaster planning, special needs students, immunization, and all other aspects of school health, while serving as a leader in the scope and practice of professional school nursing in the state.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Alaska Nurses Association supports adequate and safe ratios of nurses to students in all areas of our state.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Alaska Nurses Association will collaborate with the members of Alaska Board of Nursing to create more clarity regarding delegation in educational and other similar unique nursing practice settings, to help insure safe and lawful school nursing practice.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Alaska Nurses Association join the Alaska School Nurses Association in support of creation of a State School Nurse Consultant position.
___X__ Adopted
October 21, 2007
RESOLUTION NO. 5 Offered by AaNA Labor Council
Resolution Concerning AaNA Representation of Non-RN Health Care Workers for Collective Bargaining
WHEREAS, registered nurses who are represented by the AaNA for collective bargaining work closely with other health care and hospital workers who are not covered by collective bargaining agreements, and
WHEREAS, RNs at other facilities in Alaska are represented by unions that include non-RN health care workers, and which bargain for nurses and these other workers simultaneously, and
WHEREAS, it may at times be in the interest of both AaNA members and other workers to be represented by the same collective bargaining agent, and
WHEREAS, the Program Director’s report to the Labor council affirms the legal ability of the AaNA to represent non-RN health care workers in collective bargaining,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the AaNA Labor Program Director shall pursue legal advice regarding changes in the AaNA bylaws necessary for representing non-RN health care workers, and prepare the needed amendments for submission at the next general assembly.
___X__ AdoptedResolution No. 6
AaNA Support for Economic Opportunities for Women
Whereas, decades of research have shown that when women obtain more resources, they reinvest it in their children's health, nutrition and education;
And whereas, expanding economic opportunity for women also decreases women's vulnerability to trafficking, contracting HIV/AIDS, and experiencing gender based violence and abuse;
THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Alaska Nurses Association supports initiatives and/or legislative efforts, such as the GROWTH Act, that promote and support development of economic opportunities for women worldwide.
Offered by Martha K. Clinehens
__X__ adopted
