The UNAP/RI Hospital Health Care Education Trust will offer a continuing education program on "The Greening of Hospitals" on Wednesday, January 24 from 12:30 - 2:30 PM and 4:00 - 6:00 PM in the RI Hospital George Auditorium.  The featured speaker will be Janet Brown, Partner Coordinator for Hospitals for a Healthy Environment.  

click here for more information about this program

click here to read: "Hospitals go 'green' to cut toxins" (Wall Street Journal - 10/04/06)

In the spirit of the season of giving, the UNAP Children’s Hospital Fund presented holiday gifts gifts to various floors of Hasbro Children’s Hospital at a "Winter Wishes" celebration on December 13. 

The wishes were made by nurses from each of the units on behalf of their patients, and the Fund presented the gifts in the Children's Hospital lobby.  Among the gifts provided by the Fund six TVs with DVD/VCR players and “kiddie kruzzer kozy kabs” (below).  Other gifts included a tumble form chair, portable crib, Xbox 360, DVDs, educational and therapeutic games and toys, music and scrap booking materials.

The gift presentations were followed by a special story time for the children.  Hasbro Pediatric Neurologist, David Mandelbaum, MD read the “The Grinch who Stole Christmas,” while talented illustrator, Steve Brosnihan, sketched characters from the book.  Children of all ages, accompanied by their parents, were entertained.  Cookies and milk were provided, and each child had the opportunity to choose one of the sketches by Brosnihan.

PRINCETON, NJ -- Someone seeking a job that commands high respect need look no further than nursing. For the eighth consecutive year, nurses top Gallup's annual list of occupations rated for their honesty and ethical standards, earning high marks from more than four in five Americans. A combined 84% of Americans describe nurses' ethics as "very high" or "high."  click here to read more

The UNAP and other health care unions around the country have condemned a recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board which significantly broadens the definition of superviors, and which could result in millions of workers losing their right to union representation. 

Specifically, in a case called Oakwood Healthcare, Inc, the Labor Board agreed with the employer that its charge nurses are supervisors. But the ruling also sets broad definitions for determining who is a supervisor that invites employers to classify nurses and many low-level employees with minor authority as supervisors.

The board’s new definition essentially enables employers to make a supervisor out of any worker
who has the authority to assign or direct another and uses independent judgment. Amazingly, the board also ruled that a worker can be classified as a supervisor if he or she spends as little as 10 percent to 15 percent of his or her time overseeing the work of others.

Providence, R.I. - The United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) endorsed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse today, calling Whitehouse a "champion" for health care reforms that will improve working conditions for their members and the quality of care for their patients.  Whitehouse joined UNAP President Linda McDonald, RN, who made the announcement, and several UNAP members at a roundtable discussion on their ideas for real solutions to the challenges they encounter in the health care system. 

"We all share the goal of making health insurance available to every American family, and as nurses and health professionals, we have a unique perspective on the enormous waste and inefficiency in today's health care system that get in the way of expanding coverage," said McDonald.  "Like our members, Sheldon Whitehouse understands that the quality of the system
affects the quality of care, and he's worked hard to find new solutions that will make the system work better."