SEIU Healthcare 1199NW nurse participates in 'Future of Nursing' forum

Linda Arkava, an SEIU Healthcare 1199NW nurse at Swedish Medical Center, presented testimony at the Forum on the Future of Nursing in Los Angeles on October 19.

Linda conveyed used her own experience as a nurse and member of SEIU’s Nurse Alliance to share testimony that frontline nurses should be involved in the decisions and implementation of evidence-based policies, practices and healthy work environments for improved patient outcomes, increased RN professional satisfaction and increased safety for all.

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Elections 2009: SEIU members elect candidates who will stand up for healthcare

SEIU members worked hard to elect Dow Constantine as King County Executive and defeat Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033.

Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033
Initiative 1033 was soundly defeated across the state, as working families recognized the damage it would do to our basic services including healthcare. Despite an increasing need for healthcare services, the funding for hospitals, mental health clinics, and other health care services like the Basic Health Plan have already been cut or eliminated.
Tim Eyman’s I-1033 would have made our health care crisis even more severe by making current state cuts permanent and costing our state thousands of jobs.
Send a message to your state legislators that Washington state doesn’t want to see more cuts to healthcare and education services.

King County Executive Dow Constantine
Dow is a former state senator and current Chair of the King County Council and has been a strong champion for working families. As a state senator he established the Gates Commission which called for restructuring our inadequate and regressive tax system. He has advocated for adequate funding for public health, mental health and other human services in King County. And he has been a reliable supporter of the rights of workers to organize and bargain for living wages and good benefits.

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SEIU Healthcare 1199NW nurse calls for healthcare reform at White House forum

 Don Miller, an emergency room nurse and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW member from Swedish Medical Center joined Governors Chris Gregoire and Arnold Schwarzenegger at a regional White House Forum on health care on April 6 in California.

Don told the crowd that he began his nursing career in the Emergency Department, and he’s still working in the Emergency Department at Swedish Medical Center, first hill campus. He spoke about the important issues of funding for mental health, drug/alcohol dependency and homeless programs, and how lack of funding for these programs impacts the country's emergency departments.

“Our emergency rooms have become the dumping grounds for America’s broken healthcare system,” Miller told the crowd. “The crushing costs of our current system, along with the human costs, cannot be ignored any longer. If we’re going to build an economy with lasting strength, we have to bring down healthcare costs and cover everyone."

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Taking the Lead on Quality Patient Care & Safe Staffing

Patient Safety Act

The solution to ensure safe & quality care: The Patients Safety Act will ensure safe, quality patient care, provide transparency on patient outcomes, empower consumers, and ease the nurse shortage.

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