FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ohio Study on Nurses’ Voting Behaviors Helps Shape Future Actions by Nursing Organizations
Ohio – [December 2024] – Nurse researchers from northeast Ohio released the results of their groundbreaking, multi-year study about voting behavior of licensed nurses in Ohio. “Influence begins at the ballot box,” said the study’s lead researcher, Ruth E. Ludwick. PhD, RN-BC, APRN-CNS, FAAN of the Department of Nursing, Kent State University. “My colleagues and I wanted to compare voting activity and party affiliation of licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to help us find ways to increase nurses’ involvement in this fundamental component of civic engagement—voting.”
Health care is a highly regulated industry, with many of those laws and rules coming from federal and state lawmakers. The policies they enact affect every aspect of nurses’ practice. Despite the important role policymakers play, nurses continue to be under-represented in board rooms and hearing rooms.
The study found the number of Ohio licensed nurses who are registered to vote and cast a ballot was higher than the overall population for general elections conducted between 2020-2023. However, given the importance of public policy decisions to nurses’ both professionally and personally, one would expect the percentages to be higher. “Around 71% of licensed nurses are registered to vote; however, that means one in four nurses are not,” said Dr. Ludwick.
“Clearly, there is more work to be done to increase nurses’ awareness of the role policymakers play in their practices and to help them develop the skills they need to be more influential in crafting the actual policies being put forth,” says ANA-Ohio Executive Director Tiffany Bukoffsky, MHA, BSN, RN. Voting is the first step in the process. “Nursing professional organizations are key to providing the accessible and realistic opportunities nurses need to become more effective policy influencers and voters. This study is a starting point. But it cannot end here”.
Professional nursing organizations are a vital part of the envisioned change. ANA-Ohio, a newly formed state constituent association of the American Nurses Association has taken
that responsibility seriously. “During its relatively short existence, ANA-Ohio conceived and hosted the first nurse led public policy hackathon at Miami University where nurses and non-nurses from across the state came together to develop innovative policy-based solutions to problems they encounter in their practice settings”, Bukoffsky added. Nineteen teams presented their proposals to a panel of judges, some of whom were legislators who then encouraged them to bring their ideas to the General Assembly. Recently, during the ANA-Ohio Annual Meeting, the Jeri Milstead Public Policy Symposium focused on innovations that are or will change the way nurses provide care to their patients. “From the Sky to the Statehouse” explored the public policy challenges that both foster and impede change.
The next step in preparing nurses to take on a more visible and impactful role in policy making is ANA-Ohio’s 2025 Nurse Policy Influencers Bootcamp beginning in February. The first cohort of participants will spend several months learning the ins and outs of policy making and experience first-hand how the process actually functions. The bootcamp graduates will help mentor future boot campers and help build the sustainable skills and insights needed to move from observer to doer.
The data from the study on nurses’ voting behaviors will help inform the strategies ANA-Ohio develops in conjunction with other nursing organizations to not only convince more nurses to register to vote and actually vote, but also to have a more visible and influential presence at the policy table.
About American Nurses Association-Ohio:
The American Nurses Association – Ohio (ANA-Ohio) is the trusted professional registered nurses’ association that is dedicated to promoting excellence in nursing practice, fostering high standards of nursing care, and advocating for the rights and interests of nurses across Ohio. Through education, advocacy, leadership, resources, and support, ANA-Ohio aims to empower nurses to improve health care.
Media Contact:
Tiffany Bukoffsky, Executive Director, ANA-Ohio, director@ana-ohio.org
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Legislative Update Janice Lanier JD RN Liaison Public Policy Committee
Lame Duck session underway
HB 285, the nurse staffing ratio bill, introduced in October 2023, had its second hearing in the House Health Provider Services Committee on November 19th. The committee heard proponent and opponent testimony. Seven proponents, most of them representing the Ohio Nurses and Health Professionals Association, testified before the committee; seventy-one submitted written proponent testimony and three submitted written opponent testimony. Opponents included the Ohio Chamber of Commerce; joint testimony from the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA), the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Ohio Business Roundtable; and the Christ Hospital’s Health Network.
Election results—What’s next?
Almost everyone has heard the results of the 2024 General Election. Some are elated others dismayed, but regardless of those emotions, the work of current elected state officials will go on until time runs out on the 135th General Assembly in December. The infamous “lame duck” session is set to start in mid-November, which means the deal making has begun in earnest. Some long-standing bills will move, and others will become the “vehicle” or “Christmas tree” upon which to attach a myriad of special interest hot button issues.
Read More
Read the latest 135th General Assembly Bill Tracking as of November 1, 2024
Members of the Ohio General Assembly have not been at the statehouse since late June, so while little official business has been conducted, legislators have not been idle. All seats in the Ohio House of Representatives are on the ballot for the November General Election, and half of the Ohio Senate seats (even-numbered districts) are also before voters.
Be an informed voter on November 5th. The material developed by ANA sets out where the presidential candidates stand on health care related issues. Please note this resource is not intended as an endorsement of either candidate.
Introduction
The general assembly began its summer recess June 26th and is not likely to resume holding official sessions until after the November general election. As is the case when a prolonged hiatus is looming, committee meetings were frequent, agendas were long, and sessions ran into the night. Multiple bills received cursory attention, and political wheeling and dealing was the order of the day. When the gavel fell in the house (hours after the senate had already started its recess), over 50 bills had been addressed with many becoming so-called Christmas tree proposals (full of many different surprises) on their way to becoming law in Ohio.
Submitted by Jan Lanier
ANA-Ohio submitted opposition testimony to the Senate Health Committee on June 12th. Although interim executive director Terry Pope was on hand to testify, the committee had to limit the number of witnesses it would hear that day due to the outpouring of opposition to the bill. The unique concerns identified by ANA-Ohio centered on the bill’s failure to address how the proposal would negatively impact nurses expected to administer the of- label drugs addressed in the legislation. ANA-Ohio’s testimony, which is officially part of the senate committee’s proceedings, is reproduced below.
Testimony in Opposition to HB 73 before the Ohio Senate Health Committee June 12, 2024
Chairman Huffman, Vice Chairman Johnson, Ranking Minority Member, Antonio and members of the Senate Health Committee.
My name is Terry Pope. I am a registered nurse with years of experience working in numerous health care systems and hospitals in Ohio and elsewhere. I am here today on behalf of ANA-Ohio a relatively new professional organization for all RNs in the State of Ohio. After careful consideration, ANA-Ohio agreed to oppose HB 73.
ANA-Ohio appreciates the work that has been done and the changes made in the substitute bill that is now before this committee. However, the organization continues to have concerns about how the bill, when implemented, will affect nurses who routinely provide essential care such as administering medications (including off-label drugs) in hospitals and other facilities that are affected by this bill.
Because of the potential for harm when a patient is receiving health care, many safeguards are built into the procedures all providers are expected to follow. For example, generally, medication administration involves multiple providers—a physician who prescribes, a pharmacist who dispenses and a nurse who administers the drug. Ideally, having several individuals involved helps ensure any errors will be caught before the medication is administered to the patient. In this scenario, nurses are often the final safety valve against medication errors.
For nurses, regulations adopted by the Board of Nursing set forth acceptable standards of safe practice. These rules found in Chapter 4723-4 of the Ohio Administrative Code help
ensure a patient’s safety is not compromised. In part, the rules set forth the steps a nurse must take when deciding whether an order is safe to carry out. “When a nurse believes or has reason to believe that an order is inaccurate, not properly authorized, not current or valid, harmful or potentially harmful to a patient, or contradicted by other documented information the nurse must consult with the appropriately licensed practitioner and notify the ordering physician when the order is not followed.” (Rule 4723-4-03 Oh. Adm. Code). A rule in this same chapter, 4723-4-06 (H) OAC, requires the nurse to maintain a safe environment for the patient. The language of these rules can be particularly troublesome for nurses when the circumstances surrounding whether to administer an off-label drug are especially contentious. When dealing with such a controversial situation and especially when the order in question is from a practitioner with temporary privileges, the nurse is placed in an untenable position—whether to adhere to professional standards of practice or respond to the real-life immediate pressure to do what many conflicting voices are insisting upon.
Adding to the ambiguity, with respect to immunity provisions, the bill expressly states in Section 3792.06 (D) (line 229) that a health-related licensure board, Ohio Department of Health, State Board of Pharmacy, or other state board or agency responsible for the licensure or regulation of a health care profession shall not pursue an administrative or disciplinary action against a provider, pharmacist, or other health care professional, or hospital for publicly or privately expressing a medical opinion that does not align with the board, agency, etc. This section presumably would include nurses, but the breadth of the protection is limited. The wider immunity from administrative and civil liability provided elsewhere in the bill cannot be presumed to apply to any person or entity that is not specifically mentioned in those sections-- pharmacists, physicians, and hospitals. This lack of clarity poses problems for nurses, other non-identified providers, and perhaps even the patients this bill purports to help.
ANA-Ohio appreciates the efforts of the bill’s co-sponsors and other lawmakers to try to find ways to address the very difficult situation that led to the introduction of this bill in 2023. However, it is also important not to create an entirely new set of problems when trying to respond to a specific set of circumstances that may, by their facts, defy a realistically implementable appropriately crafted legislative solution.
Thank you for your consideration of the points ANA-Ohio has raised. I will be happy to try to answer any questions you may have.
Latest news from the Ohio Statehouse Janice Lanier JD RN Liaison Public Policy Committee
Legislative activity
While there has been lots of activity around the statehouse, the focus has been on moving bills that could be politically useful in the coming general election. Adding to the mix are the ongoing conflicts within the House republican caucus involving Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) over who will lead the House in the next (136th) General Assembly. Read More
Political activity
The General Assembly has been on its primary election break, which means there has been little official business taking place for the past month. All of that is expected to change when lawmakers return to Columbus in April. What they will actually accomplish remains to be seen. The battles within the Republican Party, that are likely to be a harbinger of what to expect in the months ahead, continue as the primary election results are being interpreted in a variety of ways, depending on one’s perspective. Further, the expected battle for the Speaker of the House position between current Senate President, Matt Huffman (who will win a seat in the Ohio House in November), and current House Speaker Jason Stephens will heat up and affect what the chambers decide to focus on and how business will be conducted for the next few months.
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