White House Highlights Affordable Care Act “Champions of Change”
Honors Kern SEIU ACA Training Team (PDF)
To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, check out the fact sheet (PDF)
521 nurses honor makes news
SEIU 521 Vice President Carmen Morales went to Washington, D.C., to accept an award on behalf of a team of nurses that the White House is recognizing as “Champions of Change.”
The team won the award for its work in educating nurses about the changes coming under the Affordable Care Act, which is nearing its second anniversary. The training equips nurses to explain the changes to their patients, who really need the information.
The team consists of Morales, Regina Kane, Sharon Ingram, Abigail Romo, Elaine Anthony and Jeff Rockholt.
So far, the team has trained hundreds of nurses all across Kern County, and there are plans to bring the training to the rest of California this year.
Morales is joined in Washington by Ernest Harris, an organizer for SEIU 521 who has supported the trainings with plenty of backstage effort.
“This honor is just such a surprise. I really have to say that the award really belongs to the entire team. They worked hard and they’re still working hard. They’re basically taking that message out to the patients every day at the worksite, one patient at a time when we’re not doing the classes, and they’re also encouraging our nurses, their colleagues, to do this work.
“We have to protect health care. The Affordable Care Act is working, and we are taking that message because we know how important and how vital this healthcare legislation is to everybody and anybody who is an American. We need to make our country healthy and this is a way to do that.”
— Carmen Morales, RN, Kern Medical Center and Local 521 vice president
