Click to download these helpful fact sheets.

Nurse members will have expanded opportunities to continue their education while still balancing a full-time career. We’re thrilled through this new partnership we can help nurse members advance their education! Under the terms of an agreement with H-CAP, SEIU members will receive information regarding WGU’s accredited BSN and MSN degree programs as well as eligibility for a 5% discount for up to two years.

Click here to see: Enrollment and Program Information

As 32 million more Americans gain access to real, quality healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, we will need more nurses with the right education and practice providing care. The best way to build that workforce is through training that both meets the needs of our changing population and fits the schedules of busy nurses. It takes educators, employers, and nurses together at the table to design a program that meets all of our needs.

Western Governors’ University comes to this partnership with a history of innovating continuing education. Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently held up WGU as an institution that is transforming education by awarding degrees not by a set number of classroom hours, but through demonstrated mastery of students’ field. This means our nurse colleagues will be well trained but won’t be pressured to leave their nursing practice to meet classroom hour requirements.

SEIU nurses are committed to improving patient care by expanding our skills and education. We are proud of our innovative partnerships like this one that supports the career aspirations of nurses and improves the quality of care for our patients. Including nurses at the table in designing our education and our practice allows us to better meet the changing needs of our growing patient population.

WGU is a nonprofit online university. What does this mean for you? Very affordable tuition. In fact, WGU charges less than half what other traditional and reputable online universities typically charge. Tuition is charged at a flat rate, meaning if you can complete your program in less time, you’ll save both time and money. WGU is also approved to offer federal financial aid to those who qualify.

Print a quick reference flyer here: SessionWrapUp. For photos from the session, see our Flickr album here.

Members Protect Jackson in Funding Fights

Jackson funding comes from a variety of sources affected by legislative decisions.

This session, changes in hospital reimbursement rates for Medicaid as well as other funding changes were fought right up to the end of session.

The nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals of SEIU Local 1991 stepped up to fight for our patients and our   hospital in Tallahassee.

At some points, Jackson stood to lose huge amounts of money. The compromises that were made prevented the worst of the damage, for a total estimated hit of $8 -$10 million next budget cycle.

Medicaid expansion would have helped, since it was estimated to bring in an additional $35 million a year to JHS coffers.

Trauma  Drama

There was a move made to deregulate trauma centers in the state, which would have opened the floodgates against Ryder Trauma Center. But a hard push by our side turned that around so that essentially we are at  status quo, with new rules being made at the administrative level.

Trauma remains an issue to watch, as local efforts to open new centers may continue to impact Jackson Health System.

Miami Children’s

MCH made a bid for the right to open a ten-bed maternity ward for high-risk pregnancies.

Bill backers were able to sneak this issue onto another bill to get it passed, despite the best efforts of legislators   supporting Jackson.

That move could mean an estimated $30 million annual hit to Jackson.

Medicaid Expansion Denied by Republican Leadership

 Thousands of people and dozens of organizations statewide tried to make the Florida Legislature do the right thing by expanding Medicaid to 1.2 million people.

It sounded like a no-brainer — improve public health, bring $51 billion into the state and create 120,000 new jobs.

But the House leadership just didn’t want to accept federal funds or cover childless adults, so they blocked it — despite our efforts and broad support from the public, the media,  business groups, the Senate and even Gov. Rick Scott.

We won’t forget who did what this session and this issue will be back.

Scott in particular was a big disappointment. He tried to have it both ways by claiming to support expansion without really fighting for it.

We’re calling for a special session and will be updating you as this  issue moves forward.

 Pensions Preserved

 In a bold move to fix what wasn’t broken,  members of the Legislature tried to shrink and destabilize the Florida Retirement System by closing it to new employees .

It came down to the wire, but in the end,  the Senate effectively killed the House bill that would have directed employees to a defined contribution plan instead.

This issue will be back next year.

 Elections Reform

 Some basic reforms were made to the utter mess the Legislature created for voters in 2012.

Possible voting sites were expanded and local elections officials were given the authority to expand days and hours for early voting back up to the 14 days (up from 8 last year).

We’re better off than last year, but still short of the rights we had in 2010. More needs to be done.

 Ethics Reform

 Ethics legislation that became law this session imposes a two-year ban on legislators from becoming executive branch lobbyists, allows the Ethics Commission to initiate investigations.

It also allows elected officials to hold their assets in a blind trust but does not prohibit the trust from investing in companies the officials regulate and increases the time violators can be held accountable for their fines from four to 20 years.

Check it out.

Click here for the photo album.

Make two calls with the following message:

 ”My name is [name] and I live in [city]. I am outraged that the legislature has put politics over the health of working families and the economy. I DEMAND a special session so Florida can accept the federal funding to expand healthcare.”

 1. Call (850) 488-7146 to speak to Governor Scott’s office.

2. Call (866) 443-1844 and enter your zip code to speak to the office of the targeted legislators closest to where you live.

Part-Time to Full-Time Conversions: PTConversionList

Tallahassee Debrief: SessionWrapUp

Young Members Committee Lunch on May 29: YoungMembersCommittee5.29

Western Governor’s University Education Discount for SEIU Members: WGU_Nurse Education Discount

Jackson Funding Needs for Tallahassee: JacksonFunding2013

Education Workshop Calendar: Education Calendar

Safe Staffing Tips: Take Action on Staff Staffing

Medicaid Expansion Facts: Medicaid Expansion Facts

Settlement Agreement: What’s the Big Deal?

How to Get Back to Your Full-Time Status: 3-3 Schedule Flyer

As they consider deregulating the expansion of trauma care centers in Florida, lawmakers in Tallahassee should be guided by a principle that has worked well for physicians throughout the ages: First, do no harm.

House bill 817 and the companion proposal in the Senate, SB 966, would eliminate the state’s supervisory role and leave it up to hospitals themselves to decide when and where to open new trauma care units across the state, providing only that they meet a checklist of requirements by the American College of Surgeons.
At first glance, this might sound like a great idea. Some senior-citizens organizations support it. But a deeper look suggests this is bad public policy that endangers the public and hurts the existing statewide trauma care network.

Having more trauma centers doesn’t mean better care. On the contrary, it means diluting the quality of care for patients requiring emergency treatment because there are only so many trauma surgeons available. They keep their skills sharp by seeing a constant volume of cases. The more they see, the better they get — that’s why they call it the practice of medicine.

Opening more emergency centers alters this critical patient/physician balance. More trauma centers means lowering the volume of care. That’s where the harm comes in, along with the elimination of oversight by a statewide agency that establishes criteria for opening trauma centers and monitors and evaluates their performance.

Reducing the flow of patients seen in Level II trauma centers, which must be staffed around the clock, also changes the economics of trauma treatment and would lead to higher costs for patients, according to the Florida Committee on Trauma, which includes physicians and nurses.

The proposed changes are up for a floor vote in this closing week of the session, but they might never have gotten this far if the Legislature had bothered to put them through the usual legislative process. Instead, the language was amended during the final stop at the committee level without getting a full hearing using expert witnesses.

If they had given the proposals due consideration, legislators might have learned that the Department of Health has held public hearings across the state to come up with a new set of rules for when new trauma care centers would be approved. The rules are expected to be out in May, after the legislative session ends.

Why not wait? Having new guidelines with public input beats having a sudden proliferation of emergency medical centers, although it might benefit for-profit companies like HCA.
Meanwhile, Jackson Health System wants to add two more trauma centers in Miami-Dade County without approval from DOH or any other health agency. What gives?

Some lawmakers say the current regulatory model prevents rural areas from having trauma centers. Fine, they can push state regulators to tweak the rules to ensure access, but that must not mean the Legislature should eliminate the state’s supervisory role altogether. That hurts everybody.

Lawmakers are already on the verge of making a terrible decision by refusing to accept federal dollars to expand the Medicaid program in Florida to help 1 million needy residents. They shouldn’t compound this callous action on healthcare by changing the rules on trauma centers until they at least review the new Department of Health rules.

Remember: First, do no harm.

See coverage here.

They met with dozens of legislators, were recognized in the chamber of the Florida House, held a press conference and delivered personal stories to House Speaker Will Weatherford’s office.

The presence of so many knowledgable healthcare professionals in purple scrubs really had an impact!

To see photos of Local 1991 in action, click here. Check out our Facebook page for video, including a special song we sang to lawmakers urging them to do the right thing.

We still need to take action on this issue in the last two weeks of the session. We are targeting moderate Republicans who might be persuaded to vote for an expansion compromise against the wishes of Weatherford.

In South Florida, the targets include Reps. Erik Fresen and Manny Diaz Jr., but all our legislators need to hear from us. Everything we are doing is moving the debate in the right direction.

Just today, Republicans in the House started talking about compromising with the Senate on expanding healthcare and one House Republican proposed an amendment backed by House Democrats that gets much closer to the Senate plan.

Speaker Weatherford is now in the position of trying to deny that he’s twisting arms to keep his House under control. It’s not enough, but better than where we were last week.

Keep up the pressure!

Call your state legislator right now at (866) 443-1844 and tell them to support Medicaid expansion.

Take a stand for our patients, our hospital and the community. Tell them to take the money and save lives!