New National Nurse Organization Launches with Unprecedented Commitment to Address the Growing Patient Care Crisis
Washington, DC - To give more nurses a voice in the growing debate about quality patient care through improved working conditions, the Service Employees International Union today announced the launch of the new Nurse Alliance of SEIU. As a distinct national membership organization by, for and of nurses, the permanent, multi-million dollar Nurse Alliance of SEIU recognizes the critical role that nurses play at the bedside.
"We all respect the nurses who have cared for us over the years and today is about empowering them to ensure that their critical work is valued and rewarded by hospitals," said SEIU President Andy Stern. "SEIU is proud today to launch this national nurse organization which will mean a better future for patients and nurses alike."
With more than 84,000 nurses in 23 states, the Nurse Alliance of SEIU becomes one of the largest nursing organizations in the country, and is aligned with the nation's largest health care membership organization, SEIU, which has more than 900,000 active health care workers among its members. The Nurse Alliance will lead national discussions on quality patient care at the bedside, and together, the new organization and SEIU will actively participate in the national debate about the country's health care crisis.
Today, the Nurse Alliance of SEIU also announced the first in a series of ongoing initiatives, Value Care, Value Nurses. Launched today in 12 states with events in cities across the country, including: Denver, Colorado; Dubuque, Iowa; West Palm Beach, Florida; and St. Louis, Missouri, Value Care, Value Nurses, will offer opportunity for union, not-yet-union, and non-union nurses to join their voices in a truly national effort demanding improved patient care and a solution to the nation's growing health care crisis. Future initiatives will include grassroots advocacy, federal and state legislation on issues such as safe staffing and hospital accountability, a national marketing effort, and outreach to patients to support the nurses who provide their health care.
The Nurse Alliance of SEIU also unveiled a new white paper, Solving the Nursing Shortage through Higher Wages, from the Institute for Women's Policy Research which cites low pay, short staffing, and mandatory overtime as conditions that have caused nurses to leave the bedside and shows how raising nurse salaries will help to draw more nurses to the profession. More information, including a copy of the IWPR report, is available online at www.valuecarevaluenurses.org.
Dian Palmer, a nurse for more than 25 years from Milwaukee, stated, "I know nurses who have gone home in tears at the end of a 16 hour shift, fatigued and worried because short staffing caused them to run from patient to patient without being able to give them the attention or time they needed. Those experiences are not unique, and that's why we need this new organization."
Diane Sosne, a nurse from Seattle with more than 35 years experience, stated, "With the new Nurse Alliance, we nurses are driving the organization and we are what will ensure its success. The patient care crisis is so great and we know that it's up to us to help find the solutions."
Cathy Singer-Glasson, a nurse from Iowa with more than 20 years of experience, said, "I've heard from nurses across the country who are excited that they're finally going to be given a voice on issues critical to them and their jobs. Together we can truly make a difference for our patients and our profession."