What:
John McCormack a resident of Pembroke and prominent patient safety advocate, will join frontline registered nurses at the State House on April 27th to hand out leaflets and visit legislators as the issue of hospital safety and the need for safe limits on the number of patients assigned to a nurse takes center stage in the House debate over a new budget for fiscal year 2007. McCormack, whose 13-month old daughter, Taylor, died tragically due to a preventable medical error in a Massachusetts hospital, has devoted his life since the accident to fighting for improvements in health care to keep patients safer in hospitals. Two weeks ago, McCormack officially announced he was joining the campaign to set RN staffing limits in hospitals as a long overdue measure to improve care to children and all patients in hospitals.
John McCormack drew national attention to the issue of health care accountability when he led the fight to pass Taylor’s Law, a Massachusetts law that gives family members of victims of medical error the right to appear at medical board disciplinary hearings. The Massachusetts Nurses Association and the Massachusetts Hospital Association have both filed competing amendments to deal with a growing crisis in patient safety in the state’s acute care hospitals. The nurses’ measure would call for setting safe limits on the number of patients assigned to a nurse, while the MHA proposal calls for maintaining the dangerous status quo, with no changes in current staffing patterns in hospitals.
Who:
John McCormack will be at the State House to visit legislators and promote the safe staffing bill, along with a delegation frontline nurses.
Where:
State House, outside the House chamber on the third floor and throughout the building
When:
Thursday, April 27, 2006 beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Contact:
Charles Rasmussen, 781.363.0728, John McCormack, 617.930.0714 or David Schildmeier, 781.249.0430 to schedule an interview, accompany Mr. McCormack on a visit, or for background on the bill.
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