TESTIMONY ON THE NEED FOR WHISTLEBLOWER LEGISLATION

Written Testimony to the
Standing Committee on Health Policy
September 17, 2002, 9:00 a.m.
521 House Office Building, Lansing, Michigan
Provided by Brenda K. Maynard, RNC, BSN

At the end of the year 2000, my co-workers and I were concerned about the staffing levels on the medical-surgical unit of our hospital.

Six months later, I was nearly killed because of those staffing levels.

And now, 18 months later, I don't have a job. My employer states that I'm still on record as a part-time employee on disability leave without pay due to a work-related injury. But the truth is that since May 20, 2002, I have been released to return to work with some restrictions. Is it really true that they just don't have any openings for me, as they told me on July 30th? Or is this a subtle message - because I have not been quiet in my campaign to make sure that things are safer there?

I loved being a nurse. I've worked in medical-surgical nursing, and often with patients having a psychiatric history for over 10 years, all at the same location. Now I feel as if I've been robbed not only of my career but of my life as well. Daily I work at overcoming both my mental and physical limitations.

Let me take you to June 28, 2001. Imagine 15 patients with a ratio of 2 RNs for seven of them and 3 RNs and a nursing assistant for eight. Imagine a small room called a NEST where three restrained patients are in one room. As was and is so often the case even now, policies and procedures weren't in effect that night. One nurse was never to be left alone when all the beds were filled. But that night, I was the only one there.

When the patient silently slipped out of his restraints, began choking me and then tried to beat my head in with an air pump used for inflating air mattresses, I literally wondered if this was my night to die.

The memories I have from that night are now a part of my life. The soft tissue damage to my cervical, thoriac, and lumbar areas, as well as the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, may never go away.

Far worse than the pain, however, is the knowledge that all of this could have been avoided. Many times my co-workers and I complained and complained about the staffing levels and how we felt unsafe at times. Even our supervisors complained to their supervisors, citing examples of short staffing. Nurses still worked short-staffed and nurses were still mandated to work overtime. How can you make a difference when you don't have whistleblowers protection? It's your paycheck. It's your profession.

I don't want another nurse to suffer as I have, so I'm speaking out. I have communicated with OSHA and JCAHO and the American Nurses Association and the Michigan Nurses Association. I provided testimony to one of your sub-committees last August. I've sent my employer registered mail and called them and requested details under the Freedom of Information Act. Hard as it was, I've gone back to the NEST and when I saw unsafe conditions still present, I submitted letters to my employer. In February 2002, new policies and procedures were written for the NEST. Those who have communicated to me about the new policies and procedures have also stated that they are not being followed by both management and staff.

I know there are other nurses who are afraid, who are desperate to speak out. But they can't risk their paycheck. I'm not starving, but my need to save for retirement is now threatened. I've suffered a financial loss. But some of my friends still have young ones at

home and some of them are on their own. They can't fight the system. They have no protection for doing the right thing at the cost of food in the mouths of their children.

You have a bill in your hands today that could give nurses the opportunity to report unsafe working conditions without the threat of losing their employment. Every nurse is trained to work in what can sometimes be harsh environments. We're not trained, however, to risk our health, our sanity and our lives because of short staffing and mandatory overtime. Let me be the last nurse you hear of that was assaulted because no one was available to back her up. Let me be the last nurse you hear of that suddenly couldn't come back to work because she would not remain silent about safety issues at her place of employment. Please, help us make our hospitals and clinics a secure place again, for both nurses and our patients.

Thank you.