Scope Week Recap and Important Call to Action
Posted over 7 years ago by ANPA Admin
This announcement has 3 attachments:
Whew! What a week we have had in Little Rock!
First and foremost, the Arkansas Nurse Practitioner Association, Nurses for Arkansas, and the Arkansas Health Policy Roundtable wish to express our gratitude to each one of you for your contributions in making this legislative session one that will go down in Arkansas nursing history. It has been over 20 years since Arkansas has seen this level of advocacy, involvement, and momentum by nurses across Arkansas! THANK YOU!
Are our bills dead……?
Absolutely NOT! They can be brought back to committee by their sponsors this session! Everything that you have done MATTERS. You have reached out to your legislators and they have listened. The votes from the House Public Health Welfare and Labor Committee on Feb. 16th were very positive in our favor, with two of our bills needing only 1 additional vote from committee members to pass.
What to do now…..?
Say Thank You!. We invite you to write, email, phone, or make a personal visit to the thank the PHWL Committee members for supporting nurses by voting YES on our bills (see chart below):
- Please use the attached House Public Health Welfare and Labor Committee members to send your message. Also, encourage them to continue to support our bills when they come back to the committee. Let them know how very much we appreciate them!
- Please act in the next few days since our bills may come back as early as next week.
|
Representative |
State District |
Office Phone #
|
HB 1181 Transition to Prescriptive Authority |
HB 1182 Medicaid Program allow APRN as PCP |
HB 1228 Prescriptive authority: Allow Schedule II-IV |
|
F. Love |
29 |
501-612-3939 |
YES |
YES |
ABSENT |
|
K. Hammer |
28 |
840-3841 |
YES |
YES |
YES |
|
D. Branscum |
83 |
870-448-2069 |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
D. Meeks |
70 |
501-277-9340 |
YES |
YES |
YES |
|
C. Richey |
12 |
870-995-2499 |
ABSENT |
ABSENT |
ABSENT |
|
S. Magie |
72 |
501-327-8721 |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
J. Miller |
66 |
501-365-3599 |
YES |
YES |
YES |
|
R. Womack |
18 |
870-403-6287 |
YES |
NO |
YES |
|
J. Payton |
64 |
501-362-5815 |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
J. Ladyman |
59 |
870-340-7499 |
YES |
YES |
YES |
|
R. Lundstrum |
87 |
479-957-1959 |
YES |
YES |
YES |
|
M. Bentley |
73 |
501-889-3556 |
NO |
YES |
YES |
|
J. Gonzales |
19 |
870-245-6365 |
YES |
YES |
YES |
|
J. Boyd |
77 |
479-262-2156 |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
K. Henderson |
71 |
479-970-4850 |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
A. McCollum |
95 |
479-426-4141 |
NO |
NO |
NO |
|
B. Coleman |
81 |
479-806-6825 |
YES |
YES |
YES |
|
A. Pilkington |
69 |
501-276-0087 |
NO |
YES |
YES |
- We need to provide accurate evidence-based information to our PHWL members who may still have questions about our bills and how they can improve access to health care by removing barriers to APRN practice.
- For those Representatives who voted NO on our bills (see chart above), please use the attached talking points to help them better understand the issues and how these bills can improve health care for their constituents.
- You may hear people using the presence of LPNs on the ARSBN as an argument for placing APRNs under the regulation or joint regulation of the medical board (HB 1254 and HB 1525). The rebuttal for this argument is:
- The Arkansas State Board of Nursing has 13 members, including 10 nurses, 2 of whom must be APRNs, who are appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. These numbers are reasonable considering the relative numbers of LPNs, RN, and APRNs in our state.
- The Board is advised by the Prescriptive Authority Advisory Committee which includes 4 APRNs, 1 physician (who has been in collaborative practice with an APRN for at least 5 years), and a licensed pharmacist. This committee is the one that advises and assists “the Board in implementing the provisions of this chapter regarding prescriptive authority” (Section 17-87-205 of the Nurse Practice Act, p. 8). http://www.arsbn.org/Websites/arsbn/images/NursePracticeAct.July.2015.pdf
- Stay updated by visiting the nursesforarkansas.com website. You also can stay abreast of what is happening by visiting the Arkansas Nurse Practitioner Association’s website at https://anpassociation.enpnetwork.com/ or their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Arkansas-Nurse-Practitioner-Association-177076869145677/
Be encouraged. These recent events provide us with more information about who is truly supportive provided us additional time to educate Representatives and Senators about our bills and how they can improve access to care in Arkansas!
Watch for Legislative Updates and Calls to Action.
Your friends at the Arkansas Nurse Practitioner Association
in collaboration with Nurses for Arkansas and The Arkansas Nursing Policy Roundtable