COUNCIL ENDORSES BILL THEY DID NOT READ!
Back on July 20, 2010, Gwen Collins, RN of Gulfport, along with a group of 6-8 other RNs requested that the Council pass a Resolution in support of a legislative act titled The Florida Hospital Patient Protection Act. They made a rather impassioned case that the well-being and safety of hospital patients in Florida depended on the passage of this Act. By consensus, the Council agreed to place a resolution supporting the Act on the August 17 Council Agenda. Conversation indicated that Council Member Sam Henderson arranged for the nurses to make their presentation.
At the August 17 Council Meeting, the resolution endorsing the Act was indeed on the Agenda and Ms. Collins, this time with only two compatriots, was back to continue her quest. The proposed Resolution as included on the Council Member’s packets was over a page in length and contained several whereas clauses in justification of the bill with attributions to various sources. Most of the sources of supporting statistics cited were: the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, a liberal think tank; The National Nurses Organizing Committee, (NNOC) and the SEIU Nurse Alliance.
In discussion, Council Member Hastings commented that he was unaware of the content of the various citations and did not feel comfortable supporting the Resolution as it was presented. Council Member King unequivocally supported the Resolution as written and urged its passage. Council Member Henderson supported the measure, but indicated a willingness to make some compromises on wording. Council Member Salmon indicated approval of the thrust of the Resolution, but was also disturbed by using supportive citations that were completely unfamiliar to her.
In the public session, Bob Newcomb, (the writer), stated that regardless of the subject, he felt that this type of resolution was inappropriate for the Council’s consideration, that it was essentially a labor-management matter. He indicated that this type of legislation had been proposed elsewhere for many years with clear labor-management implications.
Council Member King responded that the Resolution was not a labor management dispute since it was based on support of legislation and that she continued to support the measure as written. All other members were willing to compromise and with the help of the City Attorney, removed the offending clauses and came up with a simple endorsement of the legislation. Although Council Member King continued to state her support for the Resolution as written, the scaled down version finally passed by a unanimous vote.
After all the discussion of the supporting citations, one would think that someone on the Council would have mentioned that they were also unfamiliar with the Hospital Patient Protection Act since they hadn’t read it. It turns out that the Act is the most recent in a series of virtually identical acts that have been run through the legislature and died in committee. A summary of the Act as shown on the Florida House website, is as follows:
“Florida Hospital Patient Protection Act”; provides minimum staffing level
requirements for health care facility; prohibits mandatory overtime; prohibits use of video cameras or monitors by facility as a substitute for required level of care; requires facility to annually evaluate staffing levels & update staffing plan; prohibits facility from assigning unlicensed personnel to perform tasks performed by licensed or registered nurses; prohibits facility from using technology that limits certain care provided by direct care registered nurse; provides for direct care registered nurse to act as patient’s advocate; provides that direct care registered nurse has right of action against health care facility; requires AHCA to establish toll-free telephone hotline; specifies information to be provided to patients admitted to facility; prohibits facility from interfering with nurses who organize or bargain collectively; authorizes agency to impose fines; requires agency to post names of violators of act on its website. (Underlining is mine.)
The bill was filed by House Member Branyon, a Democrat and co-sponsored by eight others, six of whom are Democrats and two are Miami Republicans. Based on the summary, it is clear that this is a union backed bill that contains a lot of anti-management provisions.
If any of our council Members had read the Bill or even this summary, we might not have had a unanimous vote of endorsement. Even fewer votes might have been forthcoming if any Council Member had asked why has it died in committee so many times or what is the financial impact of such a bill, the union members claim of cost savings notwithstanding
In a Watchdog article that ran just after the previous local election, I warned of the erosion of our non-partisan local system by the active participation of the state Democratic machine in the elections of Council Members King and Henderson. This resolution is a clear example of how political ideology can cause actions by our Council that has little or no bearing on Gulfport’s well-being. In fact, an objective analysis of the cost implications of the Bill might prove it to be to our detriment.
As primary supporters of Gulfport’s newly formed City Democratic Committee, Council Members King and Henderson would do well to remember that we are non-partisan in Gulfport and that the Committee’s efforts should be restricted to State and National matters.
The mere consideration of this highly partisan bill is an affront to our non-partisan form of government. Its passage is irresponsible and totally inappropriate. We have had enough unread legislation passed at the Federal level in recent times to last us a lifetime.
Why would they read this document when they don’t read the budget and simply rely on what they are told by O’reilly?
COUNCIL ENDORSES BILL THEY DID NOT READ!
And this surprises you why?
I beleive that they are just following in the footsteps of our members in Congress.
It should not surprise any one who follows the city council that they are doing things on the say so of various public officials.
Big Dog, I do not except your premise that no one read the Resolution.
My hope is that you or your loved ones are not left in the care of a conservative caregiver. To my knowledge the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation are nonpartisan philanthropists and the only major organization totally dedicated to Health Care.
The Gulfport resolution called upon our Pinellas County Legislative Delegation to support the Florida Hospital Patient Protection Act and nothing more. It is a labor dispute, true, and so much more. But it falls upon the legislation in Tallahassee nonetheless and some of our citizens asked the council if they could appeal to the County on their behalf. The Council agreed, No harm, No foul. If you have a different view you can contact your County Representative and apprise them of your concerns.
I didn’t have an opinion on the recent resolution for the “Florida Hospital Patient Protection Act”, however, what Mr. Newcomb said appars to be true.
I commend Ms. Collins and her associates for their concern and I am confident that their purpose and concern was genuine. I was the primary caregiver for both of my parents for a number of years. I’ve experienced much of what we all hear about the high cost of medicine, pre-existing conditions, and healthcare workers spending more time on paperwork than healtcare. As such, I can appreaciate some of the request. However, read in it’s totality it is a labor issue related document. The requirements also include mandates that are extremely costly and ultimately will impact the cost of healthcare for all of us.
It appears, we all need to do a little more due dilligence and become better informed before making decisions. As 2iview states we can all also call our designated Legislator. That it seems to me would have been the way, for our Council to respond to this request. to responsPlease remember that the Gulfport City Council is elected as a non-partisan entity, yet they tend to work hard to endorse partisian issues . Personally, I wish they’d spend less time on fu fu resolutions to endorse someone’s pet project and more time on the issues internal and direct to Gulfport like crime, the budget, derelict / abandoned properties, etc. etc.
Non-partisan? Read before you sign?
Surely the event could not have happened in Gulfport!
Let’s not forget that the Stonewall Democrats publicly acknowledge that King and henderson were “their” candidates in the last election and that King, Yakes and henderson have been guests of that undeniably partisan group. Also, King and henderson appeared at the August 18 Democrat Party meeting at the 49th St city facility and King, in Gulfport Vice-mayor shirt/council uniform, spoke about her great success defeating various beneficial actions previously taken by council…who’s kidding who?
Once again, the old adage, “Follow the money,” seems to apply. Nurses? Who runs a nurse training and partly grant dependent business in Gulfport? Who is that persons ally on council? Who benefits from the proposal voted by council? Who will pay the increased cost of health care if the proposal is enacted?
Three of council is sufficient to carry the day. With King and Henderson in his pocket, Yakes always has the winning ticket. How else could a semi-literate buffoon own a town of 13,000 for more than twenty years?
The only question that remains is whether King and Henderson will wear Speedos to the ribbon cutting at Dive! As for King…the thought is just to difficult to comprehend. Perhaps Dive will attract enough folks to change the political dynamic in Gulfport to the degree that the not-so-dynamic trio is replaced with folks who actually give a damn about something other than themselves.
Council failure to read what they vote for is a local display of the arrogance displayed toward citizens throughout government…no matter who you vote for, government still wins.
OldAndLongtimeGulfporter
What the resolution did in affect was to call upon the County Representative to consider their appeal. They voted to ask the County to represent the Nurses in the State House.
Yes Big Dog, labor cost money and since slaves are no longer in use and the borders are being closed off to undocumented cheap and unskilled labor, we’re are left with the work force we’ve built to service our needs.
Why is it OK that the GOP Candidate for Governor “Rick Scott” can accumulate hundreds of millions of dollars from the healthcare system we have presently, sucking the lifeblood from the sick and dying and no one says stop, but when it comes to paying for hands-on nurses, we say it cost to much?
I don’t want my insurance company to worry more about their stockholders than they worry about their customers. I don’t want my doctor to spend a million dollars building a waiting room. I don’t want to be held for 23 hours in a hospital when the insurance company’s obligation to pay starts on the 24th hour and my doctor is paid a premium for relieving me before the insurance reimbursement begins. Oh, by the way, no one else in this City does either but who can we appeal to?
The City Council is there to represent their constituents and if in their judgment they determine that appealing to the County on behalf of members of the community is in the best interest of their community, who can demonstrate that the public is not being served, I think the Council has the obligation to consider the request and act upon it if they deem it in the best interest of the public that they represent.
It is a labor dispute as you have said, and it is a quality of service issue, a fair labor practice issue, and an issue of professional ethics. The Healthcare system is not serving the public well, and to treat the system as if it’s only mission was to make money, demonstrates how far our idea of healthcare has deteriorated.
Your article is based upon your assumption that No One read the Legislation Bill, assuming if the Council had that they may not have voted unanimously. I suspect they looked at the request in a broader context. That they were familiar with the failing healthcare system and felt obligated to do something to serve the public good, they are, after all public servants.
Whoa, 2iview Dude,
Slaves are out? What happened to that sign that used to be be where Advance Auto is located at 49th and Gulfport Blvd?
Has anyone told the mayor?
Bet you can’t recall when the Klan would find out who was beating their wife in Gulfport and set the dude straight before he drank the latest paycheck.
Just hope the union nurse does not go on strike while you are on the table with your chest in halves and your heart on a tray.
Good luck on that public servant stuff.
Time really does fly!
2iview…if they read it don’t ya think they would have said so? Or at least responded as such to Hastings’ concerns? Nobody vouched for the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation that I recall. i suspect they would have had they known anything.
As to you comments about Scott–right on. I can’t believe the Repubs are falling all over him now!!He is despicable!!
Long-time-local
I’m aware of the sign and the history, but as I said, to the dismay of the greedy capitalists, slavery is OUT, and I know this because if it was IN, your iPhone would be manufactured in Tuskegee, Al. or Pulaski, Tn not in China.
The appeal was for better service for the patient and you want to scare us into worrying about Union Nurses acting like greedy capitalists? I suppose you think that a Confederate Nurse would do a better job?
Healthcare, believe it or not, is in place to serve the public, not to support someone’s pensions plans, or like in Rick Scott’s case to be exploited and robbed by the CEO of Columbia HCA.
History will demonstrate that the USA was on the wrong side of the healthcare issue. A healthy population is critical to the success of any nation and as this nations population slides deeper into poverty it will become less healthy and a breading ground for disease and mental illness. As more people become bankrupted because of health issue a sea of discontent will swell. When the population figures out that the issue is not Right or Left…but Up or Down they will disregard the fallacy of democratic rule.
It has been documented where politicians have put the interest of business over the interest of the citizenry but in this case our local government stood up for the patient and not the profit seeking rip-off artist who sucks money from the Medicare system and then joins a band of republican thieves to officially designate that the Health Care System is nothing more than a pool of cash to be exploited by the likes of Rick Scott.
.
OldAndLongtimeGulfporter
If you knew Dr. Jennifer Salmon you would know that she has worked with the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation http://www.fpeca.usf.edu/data/CDCfinalreport62101.pdf
You might also know that she and Jane Ogilvie work in Tallahassee on a Dept. of Elder Affairs project sponsored by Robert Wood Johnson. http://www.seniorsmile.com/Pages/affordassistliv_d2.html
To assume that no one in the room was familiar with the RWJF is a leap.