Florida

The Miami-Dade/Broward Chapter of the 1199SEIU Florida Nurse Council met on June 24 to discuss professional leadership development, national safety initiatives and state legislation to improve safety and care in Florida hospitals. The 1199SEIU Florida Nurse Council is made up of RNs and LPNs in hospitals and nursing homes working together to address the challenges that nurses face on a daily basis.



During this lunch meeting, members discussed the upcoming Nurse Leadership Program, which is an opportunity for nurses to develop their leadership skills to improve patient care and their work environment through union activism in their departments, community and government.



We also discussed national safety initiatives, including the American Nurses Association position statements on accepting or refusing assignments and having a “just culture” at work. A “just culture” at work promotes the minimization of medical errors by finding and fixing system problems that enable the errors instead of blaming individuals.



We also reviewed legislation sponsored by State Senator Maria Sachs (D-Delray Beach) and State Representative Gwyn Clarke-Reed (D-Pompano Beach) during the 2015 legislative session in Tallahassee that protects nurses and respiratory therapists from discipline for refusing an assignment that they are not licensed or trained to perform. Our nurses will be taking the lead in building support for the legislation in the lead up to next year’s early legislative session. The Nurse Council members at the meeting pledged to start building a “Nurse Army” to protect licensed professionals and ensure competent care for patients.



For information on joining the Nurse Leadership Program, contact Betsy Marville at 561-859-8633 or betsy.marville@1199.org.

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