DC RNs Picket Hospital Powerbroker's Fundraiser for Alexander
Wednesday, October 2, 2013(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Registered
nurses from District of Columbia hospitals, joined by community allies,
picketed a fundraiser for DC Councilwoman Yvette Alexander hosted by a hospital
industry powerbroker last night to step up the call for the DC City Council to
move forward on a critical patient safety bill. Alexander, who chairs the
Council’s Health Committee, was one of 10 council members who co-sponsored
the
Patient Protection Act when it was introduced by Council Chairman Phil
Mendelson in February. "But Alexander has yet to schedule a committee
hearing on the safety bill as the hospital industry has waged a furious
lobbying campaign against it," said National Nurses United (NNU). “How
many more patients and their families must be put at risk while hospitals
throughout the District maintain unsafe conditions?" said Sandra Falwell,
a neo-natal intensive care unit RN at Children’s National Medical Center and
an
NNU Vice-President. "It’s long past time for a hearing and for the full
Council to have the opportunity to vote on this vital
bill.” - photo courtesy Korey
Hartwich/NursesHealDC