Nurse Practitioner Tom Sincic, newly elected President of Health Care for All Oregon, June 2017
Rachel Prusak, NFSP Vice President, in Salem June 2017 revenue rally
Sen. Jeff Merkley at press conference in support of nurses, May 2017, Portland
Senator Merkley with Nurses for Single Payer, May 19, 2017
HCAO Board at statewide meeting June 10, 2017, including newly elected HCAO President Tom Sincic, NP,(center) . Other nurse board members include Mary Lou Hennrich (standing, left) and Lauri Hoagland of Ashland (not pictured)
Nurses for Single Payer at HCAO Rally, Salem, April 2017
This spring, nurses all over Oregon have stood up to fight against cutbacks to health care, and to support a single payer model of universal health care. We have testified; we have rallied; we have lobbied; we have reached out to other nurses and to our community. We are taking leadership roles in HCAO and in our nursing organizations. Besides single payer legislation, we have supported state bills which will increase access to health care: adequate state revenue, Cover All Kids, Reproductive Health Equity, reforms of CCOs, bills to control the costs of expensive medications and more!
On April 20, 2017, many of us went to Salem with HCAO in support of SB 1046, the state single payer bill. Two nurses, Mary Lou Hennrich and Lisa Miyamoto, provided superb testimony before the Senate Health Care Committee. Read their statements here and here.
On May 19, nurses joined Sen. Merkley at a press conference announcing his introduction of two bills recognizing and supporting the essential role of nurses in the health care system. Nurses at the press conference made passionate statements in support of access to health care, and NFSP were present with our signs and banners. Click here to read the press release, including inspiring statements from nurses Teri Mills and Maureen Andersen, click here to watch the KATU news report, or click here to watch a livestream of the rally itself on Sen. Merkley’s Facebook page.