Oregon ENA members spoke with members of Congress on Wednesday, April 29th. They were able to have phone calls with Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley as well as Representative Suzanne Bonamici.

Many thanks to Lisa Burk (Mid-Valley Coast Chapter President and state President-Elect), Todd Luther (Southern Oregon Chapter President),  Jackie DeSilva (Southern Oregon Chapter President-Elect), and Bill Schueler (Government Affairs Chair) for providing their perspectives and stories. They were essential in helping our legislators understand the concerns of our Oregon emergency nurses and emergency departments. 

We focused our topics to: 

• H.R. 6390 / S. 3568 The Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act of 2020, 
• H.R. 6139 The COVID-19 Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2020,
• Creation of a national supply chain czar,
• Hazard/Essential pay for frontline healthcare workers,
• The current and future financial strain on hospitals, especially rural/critical access hospitals, 
• H.R. 1309 / S. 851 The Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare and Social Services Act, and
• H.R. 4861 / S 3006 The Effective Suicide Screening and Assessment in the Emergency Department Act of 2019.

We thank you for your time and dedication to your profession, your emergency departments, and the state of Oregon during this rather unique time in history. It is crucial for our voices to be heard, especially at a time like this.