SEIU National Nurse Alliance hosted its biennial conference on October 16-17 around the theme “Quality Care: SEIU Nurse Leading the Way from the Bedside to the Community.”
“The conference provided incredibly valuable information on ways that the Affordable Care Act will help shift our front line of treatment out of the emergency room and into more community-based preventative care to improve outcomes and lower costs.”
— Regina Kane, SEIU 521 Member and Mental Health RN, Kern Medical Center
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Over 400 nurses attended the two-day conference in Pittsburgh – including members from SEIU 521 and from all of our other locals in California. Workshops covered a wide range of topics – from staffing and the Affordable Care Act, through chapter building and quality care at the bedside, to nurse activism and workplace safety.
Left to right: Jean Soliven, Regina Kane, Luisa Blue, Aida Pena, Mary Kay Henry, Carmen Morales, Marilyn Mara
“It was my first time to attend the Biennial Nurse Alliance Conference and it was AMAZING! I’m very glad I came. It was powerful and such incredibly positive energy! Being with hundreds of nurses from throughout the nation emboldened us to continue our fight for the communities we serve. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, we will someday see these times as a historic era of greater health & well-being across the nation.”
— Marilyn Mara, SEIU 521 Member and Public Health Nurse, County of Santa Clara
Mary Kay Henry, SEIU International President, opened the session on Thursday, welcoming the new members of the Nurse Alliance Leadership Council (NALC). She went on to talk about the importance of the Affordable Care Act, immigration reform, and organizing and strengthening collective bargaining for service workers. “I am so proud to be fighting with all of you,” Mary Kay said, to the packed room of nurses dressed in purple scrubs in anticipation of going out later in the day to spread the word in Pittsburgh about the Affordable Care Act and how to enroll.
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