Debbie Thompson, RN, Anchorage Daily News, July 1, 2010 House Bill 50 has been transmitted to Governor Parnell for his signature. This bill will require that the nurse taking care of you or your family member is adequately rested and therefore able to detect subtle changes in a patient's condition, to make correct judgments and take the necessary actions needed for safe and effective patient care. This may save your life or the life of someone you love. Nurses who are adequately rested and not subjected to excessive work hours are also less likely to suffer an injury on the job. ... Legislation

Dermot Cole, News-Miner, May 21, 2010 There are 15 future nurses in the Class of 2010 studying in Fairbanks through the University of Alaska Anchorage Tanana Valley Outreach program. They will finish their course work in Fairbanks by December. They have nothing against Anchorage or a UAA graduation ceremony, but they would love to have a local event because 13 of them live here. The students, who range in age from 20 to 58, are hosting a garage sale today and Saturday in Shannon Park to raise money for a graduation gathering at the end of the year. ... Fairbanks

Renkes faces up to 5 years in prison for felony. James Halpin, Anchorage Daily News, April 30, 2010 The former executive director of an Alaska nurses' union has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of embezzling more than $22,000 from the union to pay his personal bills, according to documents filed in court this week. Thomas Renkes is facing up to five years in prison on a felony charge of embezzlement of union funds, according to court documents. According to a plea agreement with prosecutors, Renkes was the executive director of the Alaska Nurses Association between October 2007 and August 2008. ... Former

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, May 20, 2009 Fairbanks - The Alaska Nurse Alert System has dispatched a nurse to Eagle for the past week to provide assessment and treatment for local residents. The system is a collaboration of the state, nursing organizations, the city of Anchorage and the American Red Cross. Violet Rice, a nurse practitioner from Wasilla, has been in Eagle since May 13 and will remain there through Friday. The Alaska Nurse Alert System was established in 2003 to provide volunteer nurses in emergency situations. There are more than 450 nurses signed up, including 24 nurse practitioners. For more information, go to nursealert.org.

Stefan Milkowski, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, March 26, 2006

A bill that would prohibit hospitals from requiring nurses to work overtime or punishing them if they don't is moving through the Alaska House.

Rep. Peggy Wilson, a Republican from Wrangell, said a number of nurses at one state hospital had voiced their concern to her that forced overtime shifts were tiring them out and threatened to decrease the quality of patient care.

Some nurses have had to work double shifts, or 16 hours straight, she said. "They're just getting burned out." ... House