I have a confession to make.
I am aggravated, frustrated, stymied… and even a little discouraged.
As some of you may know, I’ve been lobbying to pass House Bill #1164 for over a year - since January 2015.
This bill would strengthen the penalty for assault on healthcare workers by changing it from a simple misdemeanor to a felony charge; just as it already is in thirty-two other states.
I have met with Massachusetts representative Bruce Ayers and his legislative director Sean Costello on numerous occasions; spoken to Senator Will Brownsberger and his policy advisor Anne Johnson Landry; testified in front of the Massachusetts Judiciary Committee; and worked with my friends and colleagues in contacting their legislators to urge support for this bill.
So it’s not as if the Massachusetts Legislature isn’t aware of my tireless support for HB #1164.
It's not as if this bill has not been on the radar for 13+ months.
Yet my emails and telephone calls to them inquiring about the status, save one staffer who had no information, go unanswered with deafening silence.
Look, I understand that it takes a fair amount of time to get a bill passed; but, really? When a voter and taxpayer makes calls or emails, there isn’t one single staffer who can follow up and let me know the status?
In my humble opinion, stiffening penalties for assault on a healthcare worker is a critical step toward lessening incidents of healthcare violence, and this bill shouldn't be too difficult to pass.
With stiffer penalties in place, acting as a deterrent, incidents could very well decrease dramatically.
But while there continue to be incidents of healthcare violence on a much-too-frequent basis, I cannot even get someone to return my call.
What say you? Any feedback or ideas are more than welcome.
Sheila Wilson R.N.BSN MPH
President & CEO
Stop Healthcare Violence
www.stophealthcareviolence.org
I am aggravated, frustrated, stymied… and even a little discouraged.
As some of you may know, I’ve been lobbying to pass House Bill #1164 for over a year - since January 2015.
This bill would strengthen the penalty for assault on healthcare workers by changing it from a simple misdemeanor to a felony charge; just as it already is in thirty-two other states.
I have met with Massachusetts representative Bruce Ayers and his legislative director Sean Costello on numerous occasions; spoken to Senator Will Brownsberger and his policy advisor Anne Johnson Landry; testified in front of the Massachusetts Judiciary Committee; and worked with my friends and colleagues in contacting their legislators to urge support for this bill.
So it’s not as if the Massachusetts Legislature isn’t aware of my tireless support for HB #1164.
It's not as if this bill has not been on the radar for 13+ months.
Yet my emails and telephone calls to them inquiring about the status, save one staffer who had no information, go unanswered with deafening silence.
Look, I understand that it takes a fair amount of time to get a bill passed; but, really? When a voter and taxpayer makes calls or emails, there isn’t one single staffer who can follow up and let me know the status?
In my humble opinion, stiffening penalties for assault on a healthcare worker is a critical step toward lessening incidents of healthcare violence, and this bill shouldn't be too difficult to pass.
With stiffer penalties in place, acting as a deterrent, incidents could very well decrease dramatically.
But while there continue to be incidents of healthcare violence on a much-too-frequent basis, I cannot even get someone to return my call.
What say you? Any feedback or ideas are more than welcome.
Sheila Wilson R.N.BSN MPH
President & CEO
Stop Healthcare Violence
www.stophealthcareviolence.org
And yet...out tax dollars pay these legislators!!!!!
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