Contact lawmakers today and ask for more funding in the budget to combat the nursing shortage!
Posted over 3 years ago by Stephanie Smith
This announcement has 1 attachment:
We need your help, prior to March 10, to let Kentucky’s legislators know that funding is urgently required to combat the nursing shortage. As nurses, we are action oriented on the job. Now we need to use those skills to advocate for our profession. It’s not hard to do and in four quick steps, you can stand with all Kentucky nurses to ask the House and Senate Appropriations and Revenue committee members to invest in all Kentucky nurses and the future health of Kentuckians.
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CALL:
Call 800-372-7181 and leave a message for your legislators. Phone calls help generate "green slips," which are key to helping a legislator know that an issue is important to constituents. The operator will ask for your address to confirm your message is delivered to the right legislators.
Here's the message:
I'm calling to ask my legislator to please rework the Budget bill to alleviate the Kentucky nursing shortage. We need a multi-faceted, multi-level approach to address the crisis. Nurses are 89,000 strong in the commonwealth and 53% of the healthcare workforce. We work in over 40 practice areas, not just hospitals and long-term care. The legislature must provide funding for retention bonuses for all nurses, funding for school nurses in every school, all day, every day, funding to increase nursing faculty, and funding for loan forgiveness for all nurses and nursing students. Investing in nursing today is an investment in the future of health care for all Kentuckians. -
EMAIL:
Send similar messages via email, particularly to the Senate Chair (Stivers) and the Senate and House Appropriations and Revenue Committees (email addresses provided for your use) and don’t forget your district senator and representative. Attached is a list of Kentucky Nurse Practice Areas to attach to your email.
robert.stivers@lrc.ky.gov (Senate Chair)
chris.mcdaniel@lrc.ky.gov (Senate A&R Committee Chair)
Jason.petrie@lrc.ky.gov (House A&R Committee Chair)
Brandon.reed@lrc.ky.gov (House A&R Committee Vice Chair)
Melindagibbons.prunty@lrc.ky.gov
Click here to find the email for your Senator.
Click here to find the email for your Representative.
Here's a sample message (feel free to cut and paste and make it as personal as you can):
Dear Senator/Rep. X,
I'm emailing to ask you to please include money in the Budget bill to alleviate the Kentucky nursing shortage. We need a multi-faceted, multi-level approach to address the crisis. Nurses are 89,000 strong in the commonwealth and 53% of the healthcare workforce. We work in over 40 practice areas, not just hospitals and long-term care. The legislature needs to provide funding for retention bonuses for all nurses, funding for school nurses in every school, all day, every day, funding to increase nursing faculty, and funding for loan forgiveness for all nurses and nursing students.
Please support, and urge leadership to support, these important investments. Nurses make up the vast majority of healthcare providers in Kentucky (53%) and the current shortage is not sustainable and the long-term repercussions and consequences for the profession are too great. Let’s get off the top of the list of nursing shortages in the country and support substantive change through legislative, regulatory, and organizational priorities that will address the needs of nurses and improve the work environment and ultimately retain nurses and mitigate the shortage.
Today, the Kentucky Nurses Association (KNA) reports that the state is currently operating at 12-20% short of the nursing volume needed. By 2024, experts predict that Kentucky will need an additional 16,000 nurses. The nursing shortage is so dire that, as I’m sure you know, on December 9, 2021, Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency to call for more nurses, training, and education for nursing in the state. Investing in nursing today is an investment in the future of health care for all Kentuckians.
Thank you,
Your Name
Your Home Address (including zip code)
3. SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES:
Please forward this email to as many of your colleagues as possible and ask them to join you in reaching out to the General Assembly. There are 89,000 nurses. We need to be seen and heard IMMEDIATELY!
4. AMPLIFY THIS MESSAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Join KNA in raising visibility of these requests on social media. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and share to help amplify the message!
All 89,000 Kentucky nurses must generate the momentum needed to ensure legislative action. KNA has shared the requests with every member of the General Assembly. Now legislators must hear from YOU and others - their constituents.
All 89,000 nurses appreciate your efforts! Please let us know if you have success in contacting your legislator.