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Letters to the Editor January17th Suzanne Gordon -- Jeff supports nurses working for quality health care I’m writing to urge Arlington residents concerned about the quality of health care in our state — and especially nurses who work in hospitals — to support Jeff Thielman for state rep in the 23rd Middlesex House district. The Massachusetts Nurses Association has been waging a valiant fight on Beacon Hill, year after to year, to pass legislation establishing minimum RN staffing levels. “The Patient Safety Act” — reintroduced this year as HB-2059 — has been strongly opposed by the hospital industry — even though it would greatly improve working conditions for nurses and the quality of patient care To get this nurse/patient ratios bill enacted in 2008, more members of the House and Senate must be willing to challenge the foot-dragging of legislative leaders who’ve catered to hospital management rather than address the issue of overwork and understaffing among nurses, as the state of California did in 1999. Why we need legally mandated nurse/patient ratios is clearly documented in the latest issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. It just reported that, in nearly a third of the cases of sudden cardiac arrest occurring after a patient has been admitted to the hospital, the staff takes too long to respond, increasing the risk of brain damage and death. Why the delay? In many hospitals, especially at night and on weekends, there are just not enough nurses on duty. Jeff Thielman has not only agreed to be a sponsor of HB-2059 — he’s willing to help lead the fight for enactment of this long overdue life-saving legislation. He’s getting my vote — and I urge you to give him yours! Suzanne Gordon
Ely Rd.
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