Jonathan Lipman, Chicago Daily Southtown, February 28, 2006

Nurses at Cook County hospitals are considering a strike as their new union tries to push for a contract just before the spring primary election.

Nurses began voting Monday on whether to authorize a strike. Leaders of the National Nurses Organizing Committee plan to announce the results Thursday and go back to the bargaining table Friday. Their contract expired in November 2004.

"Nurses have been essentially without a contract for going on two years," said Sheilah Garland, the union's Midwest coordinator for collective bargaining. "The talks have stalled." ... County

Chicago Tribune, February 28, 2006

Cook County - Upset at the slowness of contract talks, members of a union representing nurses in Cook County's public medical facilities began balloting Monday to determine whether to strike if negotiations with the county break down.

"The situation for nurses is critical and getting worse every day," said Jill Furillo, a registered nurse and a chief negotiator with the National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association, which represents 1,800 nurses working in Stroger Hospital, Provident Hospital, Oak Forest Hospital and several public clinics. ... Nurses

Nurse's Union: County Slow Response To Staffing Levels, Other Issues
Associated Press, February 27, 2006

Chicago - Hundreds of registered nurses in Cook County are holding a strike authorization vote this week.

About 1,800 rank-and-file members began voting today.

The polls will close Wednesday night.

The nurse's union said the county has been slow to respond to its "core issues" during contract negotiations that began in September.

Those core issues are related to staffing levels at Stroger Hospital and the county's other medical facilities. ... Cook County

Francine Knowles, Chicago Sun-Times, February 27, 2006

When Andrea Buchheit became a nurse seven years ago, she was excited at the opportunity to take care of people during their most vulnerable times.

Today, she and other nurses say that too few hospital nurses and heavy work loads have her and other nurses worried they'll one day do more harm than good.

Buchheit, a registered nurse at St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center in Chicago, is among nurses supporting bills in Springfield that would mandate minimum registered nurse-to-patient ratios. ... Staffing

Pantagraph.com, February 24, 2006

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to address nursing shortages takes a comprehensive approach that rightfully focuses attention on the teaching end.

If we are going to produce more well-trained nurses, we need people to teach them.

Part of his plan calls for $1.5 million in grants to nursing schools to increase the number of graduates through the hiring of more faculty or other initiatives.

That looks good to Nancy Ridenour, the dean of the Mennonite College of Nursing at Illinois State University. ... Governor

Chris Lusvardi, Pantagraph.com, February 24, 2006

Springfield - As Illinois attempts to curb its nursing shortage, some nurses fear their working conditions will make the situation worse.

Nurses at state facilities can be required to work mandatory overtime, which the nurses say creates dangerous and unwelcome situations. And at a time when the governor wants to add nurses in Illinois, it could drive some out of the business.

"We're overworked and burned out," said Nicollette Duffield, a Sheridan Correctional Center nurse. "When we're tired, it increases the chance for error." ... Nurses

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s attempt to beat back progressive nurse-staffing standards in California appears to have backfired, inspiring unions across the country to demand the help they’ve long said they and their patients need.
Kari Lydersen, NewStandard, February 6, 2006

When California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to roll back legislation passed in 1999 that required specific nurse-to-patient ratios in California hospitals, the California Nurses Association (CNA), went to war. The union's 65,000 members launched an extensive campaign, insisting that such standards were vital to providing quality care. ... Movement

California Nurses Association may be targeting University of Chicago after Cook County win.
Stephen Franklin, Chicago Tribune, February 5, 2006

If there's a campaign map on the wall at the Oakland, Calif., headquarters of the California Nurses Association, the Chicago area must be ground zero.

Since winning away Cook County's 1,800 nurses from the Illinois Nurses Association, the independent union has linked with nurses at more than 20 Chicago-area hospitals with the goal of organizing a handful of them, union officials say. ... Raids

Kimberly Drelich, Chicago Maroon, February 3, 2006

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association (NNOC/CNA) are bolstering efforts to campaign for HB 2548, the Nursing Care and Quality Improvement Act, a bill that, if passed, would set a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio and ensure protection for nurses who reported violations of this standard. ... UCH

Stephen Franklin, Chicago Tribune, January 31, 2006

Saying better nurse-staffing levels would protect patients, officials from two Chicago-area unions vowed Monday to step up their drive for state approval of mandatory nursing ratios at Illinois hospitals.

California is the only state that mandates nursing levels, the result of a 1999 law. But the law did not take effect until 2004 because of legal challenges and the need to determine the ratios for different hospital units. ... Area

Proposal Based On California Law.
CBS2 Chicago, January 30, 2006

Two Illinois lawmakers are calling on the state to adopt a law that would mandate how many nurses a hospital would have to have for each patient. WBBM Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports the proposal is modeled after a law in California.

The California nurse-to-patient ratio has been in effect for two years and registered nurse Liz Jacobs says it's been effective and saves lives, money and keeps overworked nurses from burning out. ... Lawmakers

CBS, January 22, 2006

Chicago - The duties of a school nurse have changed greatly in recent years.

CBS 2's Vince Gerasole takes us Inside Chicago to meet someone who's making a difference in the lives of teens.

At Crane High School on Chicago’s West side, 80 percent of the students may not have private health insurance.

In the school's clinic, a nurse named Carol Wardlaw may be the only link to avoiding health risks ranging from diabetes to HIV. ... School

Illinois Nurses Make Patient Safety A Priority.
Illinois Nurses Association, December 13, 2005

Chicago - Nurses at the University of Illinois Medical Center will decide how many nurses are needed according to patient acuity as part of their new contract between the Illinois Nurses Association and the University of Illinois Medical Center. This decision is a first in the City of Chicago, and is a precedent setting decision in the Nation (sic). ... UIC

Anitra Rowe, Palatine Countryside, October 20, 2005

After spending three weeks in the trenches of Hurricane Katrina relief, re-adjusting to suburban life is the new challenge for "Miss Mary" and "Miss Debbie."

Those are the pseudonyms given to the Red Cross responders Mary Casey-Lockyer and Debbie Edgar by affectionate southern patients. Casey-Lockyer of Palatine has returned to her post as Northwest Community Hospital's emergency response coordinator, and Edgar of Buffalo Grove to her NCH nurse assignment. ... Nurses

Kelly Wilson, Herald-Whig, October 8, 2005

Area nurses are being asked to voice their opinions during two upcoming sessions regarding the sunset of the Illinois Nurse and Advanced Practice Act.

The act, which was first enacted in 1907 and sunsets each decade, protects the public by setting standards for licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and advanced practice nurses.

"It sets forth the criteria to be licensed in the state of Illinois," said Ann O'Sullivan, assistant professor at Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing and District 8 president of the Illinois Nurses Association. ... Nurses