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NP Legislation Updates 0 K. Wall URGENT Call to Action: APRN Compact Related Legislation Requests Urge Senate House and Human Services Committee Members to Vote NO on SB1295, the APRN Compact Urge Representatives on the House Health and Human Services Committee to Vote YES on HB2494, expedited licensure. Current Legislation Status The APRN compact bill (SB1295) is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday, Feb 6. AzNA worked in tandem with AANP to introduce a bill (HB2494) that would expand the existing universal licensing in Arizona by expediting the license by endorsement of RNs and APRNs who have licenses in good standing in other states. The bill provides: The Board of Nursing must approve a license within 5 working days for nurses who meet the bill’s requirements – are in good standing in other states where they are licensed. Those who do not meet the bill’s requirements would be processed with the further investigation that is necessary as is the current practice. Waives the endorsement license fees for spouses of active-duty military and veterans. This bill meets the needs of Arizona to allow APRNs to more efficiently and quickly began to work in Arizona and expand access to care for Arizonans. The expedited license bill (HB2494), which is scheduled to be heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee on Monday, February 5, is a solution for Arizona’s health care needs, while the flawed Compact should be revised by NCSBN as has been urged by many state and national nursing organizations. As a reminder, the voiced concerns regarding the Compact which have not been addressed: This compact FAILS to include the lessons we learned through the pandemic. The 2080 hours needed to hold a multistate license remain in the compact language. There is no provision to ensure there will be APRN representation in the administration and oversight in the advisory committee. The amount of the assessment of states to participate in the Compact is uncertain and who pays for that assessment and what fees may be charged to APRNs is absent. If passed in Arizona this does not mean the APRN compact goes into effect. There need to be 7 states that agree to the language in the compact. Currently, there are only 4 and many states stand in opposition. This could take years. The best approach would be to solve the licensing delays as set forth in HB2494 while the compact is being designed to fit an APRN scope and role. Easy Ways to Use Your Voice Contact Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee - Vote NO on SB1295, the APRN compact Reach out via email to the members of the Senate HHS to let them know how you feel about the APRN compact and how it would impact the APRNs of Arizona. Sample language and contact information is provided below. Contact Members of the House Health and Human Services Committee - Vote YES on HB2494, expedited nursing licensure. Reach out via email to the Representatives on House HHS to let them know how you feel about expedited licensure and how it would impact the nurses of Arizona. Sample language and contact information is provided below. Sign in to the Arizona RTS System One of the easiest ways to communicate your position on legislation is via the Request to Speak (RTS) system. Comments and positions logged in RTS are transmitted to each legislator and become part of the record for each bill. Legislators carefully review who has signed in supporting or opposing bills and it is crucial that your name and that you are a nurse be added to the lists for these two bills. Please note that while the name “Request to Speak” suggests otherwise, using the RTS system does not mean you actually have to speak in support or opposition for a bill in committee hearing or attend the hearing (although, you may, if you would like). The system is designed to collect public input electronically, so that all can provide support or opposition to bills – regardless of whether they are physically at the State Capitol or not. If you already have an Arizona RTS system account, you can sign in to the system as an Arizona citizen to use your voice. Select Support, Neutral, or Oppose and provide a brief statement on how you believe this legislation impacts Arizona advanced practice nurses. If you do not already have an Arizona RTS Account, you must log into a dedicated kiosk prior to the first time you use the system from home in order to activate your account. We feel it is critical that you weigh in on these bills before they are heard in committee - in order to facilitate this process, AANP's local representative, Alexis Susdorf, will take your information and enter it into a kiosk at the Capitol. She must have this information before Monday, February 5, at 10am. Create your account in the system (make sure to use a password you are ok to share publicly) and then submit the following to Alexis at state48publicaffairs@gmail.com Name on your account you created - Password on your account you created - How to Contact House HHS - Support HB2494 **If you receive a response from any submitted correspondence, forward to info@aznurse.org so AzNA can follow up and track the impact of your email. Deadline: 8am, Monday, February 5 Ask: Vote YES on HB2494 so that APRNs from other states may be licensed quickly and smoothly in Arizona and begin to work in Arizona. Who to Contact: Members of the House Health and Human Services Committee: Steve Montenegro - Chair - smontenegro@azleg.gov Barbara Parker - Vice-Chair - bparker@azleg.gov Selina Bliss - sbliss@azleg.gov Patricia Contreras - pcontreras@azleg.gov Matt Gress - mgress@azleg.gov Alma Hernandez - ahernandez@azleg.gov Christopher Mathis - cmathis@azleg.gov Beverly Pingerelli - bpingerelli@azleg.gov Julie Willoughby -jwilloughby@azleg.gov How to Contact Senate HHS - Oppose SB1295 **If you receive a response from any submitted correspondence, forward to info@aznurse.org so AzNA can follow up and track the impact of your email. Deadline: 8am, Tuesday, February 6 Ask: Vote NO on SB1295 so that the legislature can adopt the Arizona solution (HB2494) that builds on what Arizona already does well. Arizonans should not depend on other states and top-down one-size-fits-all legislation to meet APRN workforce nor access needs in Arizona. Who to Contact: Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee: Thomas "T.J." Shope - Chair - tshope@azleg.gov Janae Shamp - Vice-Chairman - jshamp@azleg.gov Sonny Borrelli - sborrelli@azleg.gov Eva Burch - eburch@azleg.gov Sally Ann Gonzales - sgonzales@azleg.gov Theresa Hatathlie - thatathlie@azleg.gov Justine Wadsack - jwadsack@azleg.gov Find Your Senator and Representative Contact Info Suggested Content of your email Introduce yourself! Introduce yourself as a nurse in Arizona and explain where you work and your position. You may also wish to let them know you are a member of AzNA and the Arizona Nurse Practitioner Council. Use the key points above to explain how these pieces of legislation impact Arizona advanced practice nurses, in your own words. If you have a personal story that supports your position, go ahead and share it! Example for House HHS: As an APRN in Arizona, HB2494 would impact Arizona APRNs by... I urge you to support this legislation because... Example for Senate HHS: As an APRN in Arizona, SB1295 would impact Arizona APRNs by... I urge you to oppose this legislation because...
by K. Wall
Sunday, February 4, 2024
AZNA Member Spotlight- NAZNA Chapter 0 S. One Love NAzNA Member Spotlight My name is Gemma O’Donnell and I would like to share a little bit about why I became a nurse and why I joined the ANA. I have been an ANA and AZNA member for the past 3 years. I currently serve as Secretary for the Northern Arizona AZNA chapter. I have been a nurse for over 40 years. I chose nursing as a career because I loved my work as a nurse’s aide in long-term care and I was impressed by the caring and compassionate nurses I worked with. After graduation, I worked in the hospital setting in various venues-med surg, telemetry, Post-Partum, neurology, orthopedics, and as a float nurse. But I was eventually drawn back to the nursing home environment. I believe I am pulled toward gerontology because while I was growing up, my elderly grandfather lived with us. He was a diabetic and invalid. I was only 13 years old when I was charged with emptying his urinal, helping him get dressed, and setting him up at the kitchen table with his washbasin, razor, shaving cream, and towels. After I cleaned up the table once he was washed and shaved, I then made his breakfast for him. All before I went to school in the morning. I learned a lot about elderly care while helping him with his needs. I believe that he is the reason I feel so comfortable being around older adults.  I love being a nurse. I have gotten to do so much over the years, have met so many wonderful people, and have learned a great deal from them. I especially enjoyed working as an MDS (Minimum Data Set) Coordinator in skilled nursing homes. This is when I worked with an interdisciplinary team as a care manager. In this role, I assessed the resident clinically and then interviewed the family, the occupational therapist, speech therapist, physical therapist, dietitian, social worker, the nurse’s aides caring for the resident, and even housekeeping. Once I obtained the entire picture of the resident, I inputted the data into our electronic database and submitted it to CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). This is how our facility was paid by CMS. It was very rewarding work. I currently teach at NAU in the school of nursing. I work with so many amazing and talented people there. My greatest joy is serving my nursing students and guiding them to be successful in their coursework. My personal philosophy is that if my student is successful, then their patients will be successful.  I truly enjoy my membership with the ANA. One of the greatest gifts I get from being a member of the ANA is the ability to receive notifications of the current legislation that is happening and the ease at which I can send a letter to my congressperson about my stance through the support of the ANA. I also appreciate the AZNA text messages (RNConnect) I receive for my own mental self-care. I have enjoyed networking with outstanding people within AZNA, including Selina Bliss, Dawna Cato, Leanne Prenovost, Wendy Knefelkamp, and Madi Moyer. I get to be on the AZNA committee for Fallen Nurses and support this worthwhile effort which pays tribute to our AZ nurses who have died. Nursing is my world and I get to do what I love within the ANA.  
by S. One Love
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Welcome to AzNA Northern Arizona Chapter! 1 W. Knefelkamp Thank you Wendy - Yes From all of us on the board of the AZNA Northern Arizona Chapter - Welcome to the Northern Arizona Chapter of AZNA - We want to hear from you - whether from the woods or the mesa's or the desert - We are Northern Arizona Nurses Association - the most diverse and resilient nurses (in my humble opinion) - We are better together!Please email your board at AZNANorthernArizonaChapter@gmail.com - let us know what you might enjoy from YOUR Professional Nursing Association - WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!SUSANNE - Secretary
by S. One Love
Friday, October 1, 2021