Three more of WSHA’s proactive Protect Patient Safety & Access bills have hearings this week. These bills require greater transparency among health care staffing agencies, establish the Washington State Hospital Patient Care Unit Innovation Collaborative to come up with innovating staffing models, and a bill aimed at standardizing the number of clinical placement hours for nursing students across the state.
SB 5537: Establishing the Washington state Hospital Patient Care Unit Staffing Innovation Collaborative
WSHA strongly supports SB 5537, which establishes the Washington State Hospital Patient Care Unit Innovation Collaborative. The purpose of the independently staffed, multi-disciplinary collaborative of experts will be to enhance the understanding of innovative hospital care delivery models — such as those that integrate onsite team-based care delivery, use of patient monitoring equipment and technology, and virtual or remote care delivery — across Washington State. The collaborative will identify and analyze innovative hospital staffing and care delivery models; evaluate the feasibility of implementing the models; select which models to disseminate across the state; and determine whether to create a technical assistance center to support implementation of the models. They will report on their work annually in 2025, 2026 and 2027. All this will work toward retaining the current hospital workforce and addressing the reality that we simply do not have enough nurses to staff our hospitals as the population ages and people are sicker.
The Senate Committee on Health & Long Term Care will hold a public hearing on SB 5537 at 8 a.m. Friday, Feb. 10 and WSHA will testify in support. WSHA’s input played a key role in crafting this legislation. (Ashlen Strong)
SB 5547: Concerning nursing pool transparency
WSHA strongly supports SB 5547, which increases transparency among staffing agencies to help hiring entities better understand costs and make more informed decisions when contracting. Specifically, the bill creates annual registration and disclosure of corporate structure and ownership, requires staffing agencies to disclose what it pays on average to its contracted health care workers and the administrative fees and changes to contracting hospitals or long-term care facilities. The bill requires the state Department of Health (DOH) to collect data from staffing agencies working in Washington and produce an annual report, which would detail costs and the number of contracted workers who permanently reside within 25 and 50 miles of the facility at which they are placed. Read more from WSHA’s issue brief.
The Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care will hold a public hearing on SB 5547 at 8 a.m. Friday, Feb. 10 and WSHA will testify in support. WSHA’s input played a key role in crafting this legislation. (Katerina LaMarche)
SB 5503: Establishing requirements for uniform clinical placement hours for nursing education programs
WSHA strongly supports SB 5503, which requires nursing programs to set a maximum number of clinical hours that nursing students must fulfill based on degree type. Currently, given the varied hours that exist, it means a student’s requirement at one nursing program could amount to two students’ requirements at another nursing program. Given the shortage of clinical placement availability, this results in unequal access and longer completion timeframes for some students. Nurse education and clinical placements are essential for teaching the next generation of nurses and attracting more students to the state. Monetary investments by the legislature were a necessary step in the right direction, but more must be done.
The Senate Committee on Health & Long Term Care will hold a public hearing on SB 5503 at 8 a.m. Friday, Feb. 10 and WSHA will testify in support. WSHA’s input played a key role in crafting this legislation. (Katerina LaMarche)
HB 1593: Concerning industrial insurance coverage for post-traumatic stress disorders affecting registered nurses
WSHA has concerns with HB 1593, which allows a direct care registered nurse to file a workers’ compensation claim for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). WSHA recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges to frontline nurses, especially those in ERs, Critical Care, and Intensive Care Units. It is modeled on the statute for firefighters that presumes PTSD to be an occupational disease. However, there are differences between HB 1593 and the firefighter statute that are concerning. Specifically, HB 1593 requires clear and convincing evidence for an employer’s rebuttal (a higher standard than the firefighter statute, which is likely to be nearly impossible to meet), has no minimum length of service in the career path to apply (whereas firefighters must serve for at least 10 years before the statute applies) and has no requirement for a psychological exam (whereas firefighters must submit to an exam to rule out pre-employment exposure).WSHA is working on amendments to the bill.
The House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards will hold a public hearing on HB 1593 at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, and WSHA will testify to these concerns. WSHA already testified on the companion bill, SB 5454, Jan. 26 and expressed these concerns. (Remy Kerr)
WSHA Weighing In: Feb. 6-10
WSHA is weighing in on the following bills this week:
Monday, Feb. 6
- House Appropriations
- SHB 1028: Supporting crime victims and witnesses by promoting victim-centered, trauma-informed responses in the legal system. (Jacqueline Barton True)
- SHB 1452: Establishing a state medical reserve corps. (Ashlen Strong)
- House Environment & Energy
- HB 1589: Supporting Washington’s clean energy economy and transitioning to a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future. (Remy Kerr)
- Senate Labor & Commerce
- SB 5365: Preventing use of vapor and tobacco products by minors. (Remy Kerr)
Tuesday, Feb. 7
- House Community Safety, Justice & Reentry
- HB 1564: Prohibiting the sale of over-the-counter sexual assault kits. (Jacqueline Barton True)
- House Postsecondary Education & Workforce
- HB 1643: Creating the hospital-based nurse student loan repayment assistance program under the Washington health corps.
- Senate Health & Long Term Care
- SB 5580: Improving maternal health outcomes. (Andrew Busz)
- Senate Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs
- SB 5604: Concerning county sales and use taxes for mental health and housing. (Zosia Stanley)
- Senate Ways & Means
- SB 5059: Concerning prejudgment interest. (Cara Helmer)
Wednesday, Feb. 8
- House Appropriations
- SHB 1013: Establishing regional apprenticeship programs. (Katerina LaMarche)
- House Labor & Workplace Standards
- HB 1593: Concerning industrial insurance coverage for posttraumatic stress disorders affecting registered nurses. See article above. (Ashlen Strong)
- House Postsecondary Education & Workforce
- HB 1568: Concerning the credentialing of certified health care professionals providing long-term care services. (Ashlen Strong)
Thursday, Feb. 9
- Senate Health & Long Term Care
- SB 5526: Concerning nursing facility rates. (Andrew Busz)
- SB 5569: Creating temporary exemptions from certificate of need requirements for kidney disease centers. (Remy Kerr)
Friday, Feb. 10
- House Health Care & Wellness
- HB 1690: Creating exemptions from certificate of need requirements for kidney disease centers. (Zosia Stanley)
- HB 1694: Addressing home care workforce shortages. (Katerina LaMarche)
- Senate Health & Long Term Care
- SB 5499: Concerning the multistate nurse licensure compact. (Ashlen Strong)
- SB 5503: Establishing requirements for uniform clinical placement hours for nursing education programs. See article above. (Katerina LaMarche)
- SB 5537: Establishing the Washington state hospital patient care unit staffing innovation collaborative. See article above. (Ashlen Strong)
- SB 5547: Concerning nursing pool transparency. See article above. (Katerina LaMarche)
Thank you for testifying!
Thank you to everyone who testified in support of WSHA’s legislative efforts over the last week:
- Jennifer Burkhardt, Chief Legal and Talent Officer, Summit Pacific Medical Center
- Jennifer Graham, Chief Nurse Executive, MultiCare Deaconess and Valley Hospitals
- Mike Marsh, President & CEO, Overlake Medical Center & Clinics
- Jackie Mossakowski, Chief Nursing Officer, Tri State Memorial Hospital
