[UPDATED @ noon] National Nurses United Rally for Nursing-Ratio Limits

cross-posted from Sum of Change

About 1,000 nurses, with a handful of doctors mixed in, rallied today on Capitol Hill for National Nurses Week to "press the case for moving beyond insurance reform to improving the quality of care in U.S. hospitals and other healthcare settings."

One of the big topics of discussion, S 1031/HR 2273, The National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act (pdf). The focus of this legislation is to establish a minimum nursing-ratio, much like the law in California. We were able to grab Senator Boxer for a very quick explanation of the California law everyone was talking about:

We also got a minute to speak with Congressman Anthony Weiner to get his thoughts on the days events:

Senator Boxer's remarks on the National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act (pdf):

Senator Al Franken's opening remarks:

Congressman Weiner's opening remarks:

We've got lots more video from this event. Check Sum of Change for updates.

DC Health Care Rally - March 9th 2010

Yesterday, we posted some quick interviews I did with some of the folks at the health care rally in Washington DC. Today we have some highlights of the day's events:



Featuring Gov Howard Dean, Hilary Shelton of the NAACP, and Anna Burger of SEIU.