House Bill 4207, now Public Act 19 of 2007-Licensure of Foreign Nurses
This legislation was introduced by Representative Hoon-Yung Hopgood. HB 4207 amends the Public Health Code to allow graduates of foreign nursing programs to be licensed as registered professional nurse in Michigan, provided their nursing education program from which they graduated from is verified and they pass the requisite exam required by the Michigan Board of Nursing.
House Bill 4339/Senate Bill 63-Mandated Nurse-to-Patient Ratios
This legislation was introduced by Representative Lisa Wojno and Senator Bruce Patterson. The bills amend the Public Health Code to require hospitals to establish nurse-to-patient ratios, varying by respective units and eliminate mandatory overtime as a hospital staffing strategy (except in emergencies). Hospitals would also be subject to fines up to $10,000 for non-compliance.
Senate Bill 377-Safe Patient Handling
This legislation was introduced by Senator Dennis Olshove. SB 377 amends the Public Health Code to require hospitals to establish a safe patient handling committee and program. It would also require the hospital to have a certain number of acute care patient lift devices.
Senate Bill 245-Reimbursement for Nurse Practitioners in Underserved Areas
This legislation was introduced by Senator Buzz Thomas. SB 245 amends the Social Welfare Act to reimburse nurse practitioners who serve provide patient care in medically underserved areas to be reimbursed at the same rate as medical services provided by physicians in medically underserved areas.
Senate Bills 562, 563, and 564-Legislation to Address the Nursing Shortage
These 3 bills were introduced by Senator Cameron Brown, as a means to address the nursing shortage. SB 562 establishes an educational scholarship program for eligible resident students enrolled in nursing programs. This program is dubbed as the “Nursing Faculty Scholarship Act”. Students can receive $4,000 upon enrollment in a nursing faculty program once an agreement is signed with the authority stating the student will serve in eligible employment in this state for 3 continuous years after completion of a graduate program. SB 563 establishes a grant program to support sustained expansion of nursing school enrollment in Michigan. Awards may be granted to nursing schools that enroll more students in the academic year when the grant application is submitted than in the previous year. Monies can be used to hire additional full-time or part-time faculty, pay for clinical supervision, purchase equipment, materials, software or supplies, for special preparation for graduates taking the state licensure exam, or for producing marketing or recruiting material. And lastly, SB 564 establishes the funding mechanism for the grant programs. This bill would allow the Secretary of State (SOS) to develop a fundraising registration plate honoring Michigan nurses. Money raised would go into the Michigan Nurses Fund, which would be used to fund both programs above and other nursing workforce related programs.
Senate Bill 1283-Presence of Circulating Nurse
This bill was introduced by Senator Roger Khan. SB 1283 amends the Public Health Code, to require hospitals, health facilities and free-standing surgical outpatient facilities to have a circulating nurse present in the operating room for the duration of a surgical procedure. “Circulating Nurse” is defined in the bill as someone who is responsible for coordinating all nursing care, patient safety needs and the needs of the surgical team in the operating room during an invasive or operative procedure.
House Bill 4341-Prohibits Mandatory Overtime for Nurses
This bill was introduced by Representative Lisa Wojno. HB 4341 amends the public health code by prohibiting a hospital from requiring a nurse to work more than 40 hours in a 7 day work period or more than his or her scheduled shift in any day except for an emergency (subject to a collective bargaining agreement).
House Bills 5054 through 5057-SANE Legislation
The package of bills was introduced by Representative Marie Donigan. These bills address the need for additional funds to train SANE Nurses. As a package, the legislation would establish funding for organizations that provide services to victims of sexual assaults and perform evidence gathering for prosecution of sexual assault cases. This would also provide a funding source that will increase the number of trained professionals and SANE programs available on a state-wide basis to assist victims of sexual assaults.
For more information please visit www.michiganlegislature.org
or contact Monika Wierzbicki at monika@wayne.edu
