Nurse Advocacy in Action: Your Voice Matters!

June is always a busy month. It is the month that DNA hosts our annual “Nurse’s Day at Legislative Hall” in Dover, ANA’s Hill Day in Washington, the end of Delaware’s legislative session, and the ANA Membership Assembly. This June, Delaware’s nurses made an impact!

Over 20 LPNs, RNs, and APRNs participated in DNA’s day at Legislative Hall in Dover. Over a dozen constituent meetings were held, with nurses advocating for multiple topics. Nurses got to meet with DE’s three nurse legislators, too, Lt. Governor Dr. Bethany Hall-Long, House Majority Leader, Representative Melissa “Mimi” Minor-Brown, and Representative Valerie Jones-Giltner. These nurses made an immediate impact on the legislative process.

House Bill 140, end of life options/death with dignity, was passed out of committee the following day and eventually passed both chambers. House Bill 401, school nurse access to lead screening status and results, passed on the House consent agenda and eventually passed the Senate. Senate Bill 195, programmatic support and funding for DMOST, passed out of Senate committee and eventually passed both chambers.

When Nurses Speak, Dover Listens!

Over 20 Delaware LPNs, RNs and APRNs traveled from Newark to our nation’s capital on Thursday, June 27th to participate in the American Nurses Association Hill Day. They were met by many more Delaware nurses. Altogether, nearly 500 nurses came together from across the nation to advocate for elimination of mandatory overtime, safe staffing in long-term care, reducing barriers to APRN practice, and investments in nursing faculty pay. Delaware nurses met directly with Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester just outside the Capital to discuss our issues and how we can work together to solve them.

Meetings continued with representatives from Senator Coons and Carper’s teams. We continued discussing these issues, with Delaware nurses providing real examples of the impacts of mandatory overtime, workforce shortages, faculty shortages, and more. Delaware is the 2nd smallest state, but we were the state with the most representatives at 2024 ANA Hill Day!

When Nurses Speak, Washington Listens!