The Patient Safety Act Update
Submitted by Tony Dunn on July 25, 2008 - 10:31am. |
As many of you already know, last week the State Senate voted on a drastically amended version of the Patient Safety Act that would actually make the current dangerous status quo even worse. Despite a vigorous effort to defeat this bill, we were unsuccessful, and the bill passed 23-13. Needless to say, we are very disappointed, a disappointment I know that all of you, who worked so hard on this legislation, will share.
In the immediate term, we must make sure that the Senate version of the bill does not somehow make its way to the Governor's desk. Accordingly, below are instructions, along with a chart listing how every member of the Senate voted.
This information will also be available on the MNA website @ http://www.massnurses.org/. Please note that on the action alert below we are asking that you make 2 calls - one to your senator, and one to your state rep.
Thanks to everyone for all of your hard work on this bill. While I know the outcome last week was disappointing, but we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.
Onward!
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Below is the list of how your Senator voted on SB2805, a dramatically harmful version of the Patient Safety Act that would allow the state's hospitals to continue the dangerous and deadly status quo and even make the situation worse.
Under this legislation, there would be no uniform standard of care and instead, the Department of Public Health would only be in charge of enforcing varying and inadequate standards created by the private sector hospital industry-including the for - profit hospitals. Simply put: this bill is a hazardous step backward, and would ensure that current unsafe conditions continue to deteriorate.
Last week, the MNA called upon the State Senate to reject this bill and 13 members of the Senate supported the MNA and voted no on SB2805.
- Look and and see how your Senator voted on this legislation and thank those that and voted no. We also encourage you to share your disappointment with your elected officials that voted to support SB2805.
- Next, call your State Representative and ask them to reject the Senate version of the Patient Safety Act.
To contact your legislator, call 617-722-2000 or find your elected official online.
SENATE VOTE - JULY 17, 2008
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Antonioni -Gardner, Leominster
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YES
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Augustus - Worcester
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NO
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Baddour - Merrimac, North Andover
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YES
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Berry - Beverly, Danvers, Salem, Peabody
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YES
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Brewer - Ashburnham, Barre, Charlton
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YES
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Brown - Attleboro, Wrentham, Needham,Wayland
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YES
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Buoniconti -Agawam, Chicopee, W.Springfield
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YES
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Candaras - Belchertown, Hampden, Longmeadow, Springfield
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YES
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Chandler - Berlin, Holden, Paxton, Princeton
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NO
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Creedon - Brockton, Halifax, Hanover, Whitman
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YES
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Creem - Brookline, Newton, Wellesley
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NO
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Downing - Ashfield, Williamsburg, Williamstown
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YES
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Fargo- Chelmsford, Concord, Waltham
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YES
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Galluccio- Charlestown, Cambridge, Everett
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NO
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Hart - Boston, 1st Suffolk
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NO
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Hedlund - Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Weymouth
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NO
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Jehlen - Medford, Somerville, Woburn
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NO
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Joyce - Avon, Canton, Milton, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton
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YES
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Knapik - Chester, Chicopee, Southwick, Westfield
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YES
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Marzilli - Arlington, Billerica, Burlington, Lexington
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ABSENT
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McGee - Lynn, Marblehead, Nahant, Saugus, Swampscott
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NO
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Menard - Fall River, Lakeville, Somerset, Swansea, Westport
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YES
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Montigny - Achusnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, New Bedford
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NO
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Moore - Bellingham, Blackstone, Douglas, Milford, Sutton, Uxbridge
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YES
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Morrissey - Abington, Braintree, Quincy, Rockland
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NO
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Murray - Bourne, Falmouth, Pembroke, Plymouth, Sandwich
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O'Leary - Brewster, Dennis, Chatham, Provincetown
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NO
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Pacheco - Bridgewater, Carver, Middleboro, Taunton
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ABSENT
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Panagiotakos - Dunstable, Groton, Lowell, Tyngsboro, Westford
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YES
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Petruccelli - Cambridge, Revere, Winthrop
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ABSENT
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Resor - Acton, Ayer, Boxboro, Littleton, Shirley, Sudbury, Westboro
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YES
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Rosenberg - Amherst, Greenfield, Hadley, Northampton
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YES
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Spilka - Ashland, Framingham, Franklin, Medway, Natick
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YES
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Tarr- Boxford, Gloucester, Rockport, Wilmington
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YES
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Timilty - Attleboro, Foxboro, Mansfield, Seekonk, Walpole
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NO
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Tisei - Malden, Melrose, Wakefield
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YES
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Tolman - Belmont, Watertown
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YES
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Tucker - Andover, Dracut, Lawrence, Tewksbury
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YES
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Walsh - Dedham, Norwood, Westwood
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NO
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Wilkerson - Boston 2nd Suffolk
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YES
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Barbara "Cookie" Cooke RN,
Associate Director
Massachusetts Nurses Association
Region 3 Community Organizer
Mobile Phone: 508.345.9219
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