Nursing - News February 11, 2012

HVHC Wants You to Love Your Heart this Valentine's Day (Patch)
The following is a press release from the Hudson Valley Hospital: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, for both men and women.

Miliband: 'Kill The Government's Health Bill' (Sky News)
Ed Miliband has written to the House of Lords urging them to "kill the Government's health bill" as pressure grows on the coalition to abandon the reforms.

Alexandria smoking ban conflicts with nursing home residents' 'bill of rights' (Alexandria Daily Town Talk)
Alexandria city leaders insist they're not backing down from the city's expanded smoking ordinance that went into effect at the beginning of the year. However, they might have to relax one area to comply with already existing federal and state laws. The Alexandria City Council this week passed a resolution authorizing City Attorney Chuck Johnson to request an opinion from Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell to see how the city's anti-smoking ordinance fits in with the state's nursing home residents' 'bill of rights.' Louisiana Revised Statute 40:2010.8 outlines the bill of rights, which reads in subsection A-19 that a resident has 'the right to use tobacco at his own expense under the home's safety rules and under applicable laws and rules of the state, unless the facility's written policies preclude smoking in patient rooms.' Johnson said he was not aware of the bill of rights for nursing home residents, which was first passed by the state Legislature in 1985, when the council passed the anti-smoking ordinance last year. However, he received a complaint letter from the Baton Rouge-based Louisiana Nursing Home Association that said nursing homes should be exempt from the anti-smoking ordinance because the residents have the right to use tobacco in their rooms. 'Federal and state governments recognize that residents of nursing facilities have the right to smoke if reasonable precautions are taken to protect non-smokers and if the facility did not have a pre-admission 'no smoking' policy,' Joseph A. Donchess, executive director of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association, wrote in a letter that was addressed to Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy. Donchess requested that a waiver from the anti-smoking ordinance be granted to nursing homes, and threatened that legal action could be taken if residents were 'denied the right to smoke.' The waiver request applies only to residents, Donchess said in the letter. 'The laws and regulations cited hereinabove apply to residents of nursing facilities and have no application to employees and visitors, and we recognize that the ordinance is fully enforceable against persons who are not residents of the facilities,' Donchess wrote. Any state statute would pre-empt the city's ordinance, Johnson said, and he wants to find out from the attorney general if the City Council needs to make an amendment to the ordinance. 'If we have to exempt these folks, I think we just have to do it,' Johnson said.

Highland Hospital support for breast-feeding recognized with UNICEF 'Baby-Friendly' designation (Inside Bay Area)
Highland Hospital has earned recognition for promoting breast-feeding -- a key to reducing the numbers of children who are overweight or obese -- with a designation as a "Baby Friendly" hospital.

Mayo Clinic lobbying to allow nurses to practice across state lines (Post-Bulletin)
Mayo Clinic is throwing its weight behind legislation that would allow nurses to practice across state lines, arguing it is a way to create jobs while improving patient care.

Some Nova Scotia nurses unhappy about black and white uniforms (The Toronto Star)
A new policy has been introduced requiring most nurses to wear a standard uniform - white top and black pants or skirt - in an effort to immediately identify registered nurses from the assortment of other health-care workers.

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