Posts Tagged ‘health policy’

Perry shirks his duty on Texans’ health care

Austin American-Statesman, July 12, 2012

Gov. Rick Perry threw Texans under the bus Monday when he announced our state would not expand Medicaid, leaving $76 billion from the federal government […]

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Our Missed Health Care Opportunity

Austin American-Statesman, December 1, 2011

For the past 17 months I’ve watched through my fingers as Congress has slowly eviscerated a gentle, brilliant, apolitical pediatrician and Harvard professor — Don […]

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Regulatory boards need to keep their independence

Austin American-Statesman, March 2, 2011

Facing a $27 billion budget shortfall, Gov. Rick Perry has revived a failed and tired idea from past legislative sessions. To save a paltry $7 […]

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Midterm election campaigns all about health care bill

Austin American-Statesman, October 29, 2010

The midterm elections seem to be all about health care. Republicans spew venom toward Democrats for passing the reform bill. Democrats distance themselves from the […]

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Controlling health care costs needs to happen from within

Austin American-Statesman, July 2, 2010

The White House nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services seems to be imploding. If it does, it […]

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This is What Leadership Looks Like

Austin American-Statesman, March 30, 2010

‘This is what change looks like.” Reflecting on 13 months of rancor and preparing us for the months ahead making sense of it all, that’s […]

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One Step Forward, One Step Back: Physician supervision requirements are troublesome for CRNAs.

American Journal of Nursing [Vol. 103, No. 1, pp. 91-4], January 1, 2003

“It’s a wash,” says Sally Bass Witkowski, CRNA, BSR, when asked about the recent flip-flop Medicare rulings on physician supervision of certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) […]

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“I Promised Myself That It Would Happen” What happens when a will the size of Texas faces off with the great state itself.

American Journal of Nursing [Vol. 102, No. 10, pp. 106-7], October 1, 2002

It would be difficult to say where Sister Angela Murdaugh, MSN, RN, CNM, FACNM, has made a more profound difference: advancing the profession of nurse […]

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National drug shortages: Patient safety takes a backseat to profit

American Journal of Nursing [Vol. 102, No. 7, p. 11], July 1, 2002

Government intervention into the sacrosanct free market is considered anathema, but the frequency of nationwide hospital drug shortages is threatening patient care. It’s time for […]

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5 Minutes with Nancy McDonald: On serving in the Texas legislature

NurseWeek, March 18, 2002

How did you become involved in politics?

Part of our professional code of ethics tells us that we’ll strive to “improve standards of nursing practice and promote … efforts to meet health needs of the public.” I’ve always taken that aspect of the code very seriously.

During the 12 years that I was a hospital staff and head nurse, I was also involved in local politics. During that time, an influx of foreign nurses pointed to the need for a clearer definition of nursing responsibilities in the Nursing Practice Act. After joining the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Texas Nurses Association, we set to work to rewrite parts of the act and then to lobby the Legislature for its passage.

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