Nursing Network

Mission Statement

The Montana Nurses Association promotes professional nursing practice, standards and education; represents professional nurses; and provides nursing leadership in promoting high quality health care.

"Let me be clear: nursing and healthcare are political — not because we choose them to be, but because the policies, regulations, and legislation made in Helena and Washington shape the work of every nurse in Montana. Whether you're a bedside nurse, a nurse educator, a nurse leader, a school nurse, or an advanced practice nurse, your practice is impacted. From staffing ratios to rural hospital funding, from reproductive healthcare access to pay parity for advanced practice nurses, from workplace violence to corporate takeovers of our facilities, from education to mental health services, politics define the conditions in which we care for others."

This isn't about choosing sides. It's about recognizing that policy shapes our practice. And we can't afford to ignore that.

While healthcare is political, our advocacy is not, we remain nonpartisan. We will work with anyone who wants to work with us. Democrat, Republican, Independent, it doesn't matter and we have. Our legislative wins over the past decade are proof of that. What matters is protecting nurses and patients.

The Montana Nurses Association stands firm in its mission to elevate the voice of nurses, protect our profession, and promote the health of every Montanan.

We are guided by the ANA Code of Ethics, which calls on nurses to "advocate for health, safety, and the rights of the patient," and to "advance the profession through research, policy, and social reform."

Quoting from the preface of the Code of Ethics for Nurses also known as the "Code". The CODE is a nonnegotiable moral standard of nursing practice for all settings. It arises from the long, distinguished, and enduring moral tradition of modern nursing in the United States. It is foundational to nursing theory, practice, and praxis in its expression of the profession. In this context, praxis in nursing is more than technical skill; it involves combining theory, critical thinking, and personal intuition to guide care effectively.

We are also proud to have a collective bargaining arm that advocates for nurses' rights in the workplace. This advocacy is not about party lines, it's about protecting your license, your livelihood, and your ability to care for patients safely and ethically. This additional advocacy tool is crucial in many of our facilities and clinics. This isn't about ideology. It's about safety. About your license. About your right to speak up when something's wrong, which affirms the value of our professional nurse union.

Recently, our national union that we have been affiliated with for over 13 years, shared with all their 1.8 million members, as did MNA, information about the NO KINGS rally, a nonpartisan event focused on defending democracy and the rights of working people, including nurses.

Sharing this information was not an endorsement of any political party or ideology. It was an invitation to be informed, to be engaged, and to act, or not act, based on your own values. This was not about left or right.

It was a reminder: democracy matters. Because without it, we all lose our voice. And nurses must never be silenced.

We are seeing increasing attacks on unions and collective bargaining. If we allow misinformation or political polarization to divide us, we risk losing the very protections that allow us to do our jobs safely and effectively. This is real. And it's happening now. If we don't stand together, we risk losing those very protections that keep us safe.

Whether you're Democrat, Republican, or Independent, I ask you to consider this: democracy is the foundation that allows our profession to thrive. Supporting democracy doesn't mean aligning with a particular party, it means upholding the principles that protect our rights and freedoms. Without it, we lose our ability to advocate, to organize, and to protect the standards of nursing in Montana. No matter our political views, democracy is something we should all agree is critical to our survival as a free country.

Our direction is clear and principled, rooted in MNA's Government Relations Platform:

To promote safe staffing and workplace environments;
To expand access to affordable, equitable care;
To uphold evidence-based public health policy;
To strengthen and protect the nursing profession;
And to ensure that every Montanan---regardless of geography, income, or politics---has the opportunity to live a healthy life.

These aren't partisan goals. They're nursing goals. They're Montana goals approved by this very house each year and they're worth fighting for.

We know our MNA membership reflects Montana itself, diverse in thought, background, and belief. Some of us lean conservative, some progressive, and many fall somewhere in between. Yet when it comes to the health of our patients, I believe we are united. I know we don't all agree on everything. That's okay. What unites us is stronger than what divides us, and that is our commitment to care and our profession.

We will work with anyone, any stakeholder, who will work with us to advance these principles. Because we advocate for issues, not parties. We stand for patients and quality healthcare, not politics.

Our Principles of Advocacy remain unwavering: They keep us focused. They remind us who we are.

We advocate for issues, not parties.
Guided by the MNA government relations platform, we support bipartisan legislation that improves access to care, protects nurses, and strengthens Montana's healthcare system.
We address Policy decisions directly affecting nursing practice.
From safe staffing to violence prevention, from immunization policies and full practice authority to mental health services, public policy determines the conditions in which we deliver care.
We respect diverse perspectives.
MNA values the varied experiences of our members and provides the information, tools, and opportunities to engage, without ideology or mandates.
We know Advocacy is professionalism in action.
The ANA Code of Ethics reminds us that advocacy is not optional; it is a professional obligation. To remain silent when health is threatened is to abandon our duty.
We believe in dialogue, not division.
Constructive, respectful discussion strengthens our collective voice and reinforces public trust in nursing as a moral and evidence-based profession.

On October 24, 2025, Adrianne Harrison, MNA Representative to the Board for the Council on Economic & General Welfare (E&GW) provided the annual E&GW Report at the MNA Convention. As the union president for Local #7, Montana State Hospital, Adrianne is active in her local bargaining unit. Her report from the E&GW Council to our 2025 House of Delegates, highlights the significant achievements in collective bargaining and ongoing organizing efforts both internally and externally being accomplished by your MNA Labor Department.

Collective Bargaining Wins:

Over the past year, your MNA labor staff successfully negotiated 17 successor agreements, resulting in substantial improvements in wages and working conditions for nurses across Montana. As negotiations have grown increasingly complex, our MNA Labor team collaborated and worked together to effectively overcome many challenges to secure meaningful new contracts that benefit our nurses. Their dedication and teamwork have been instrumental in advancing the interests of our members.
Your labor staff continues to effectively manage a wide range of grievances and workplace issues impacting our nurses. By the end of this year, we will have mediated or arbitrated four formal grievances. In addition, numerous other grievances and issues have been successfully resolved before reaching these final steps, demonstrating our proactive approach and commitment to supporting our members. All of these nurse bargaining teams were dedicated to retaining nurses to keep their nurses local and to provide better opportunities for recruitment.

Organizing Wins:

Kate Crego (yes... she did get married! 😊) continues to strengthen our organizing efforts with remarkable success. This year alone, we have won four Armor Globe elections and successfully added previously unrepresented nurses to our existing contracts at St. Patrick's Hospital and Partners in Home Care. Kate and Leslie have navigated the challenges of these TOUGH negotiations with determination. Their bargaining teams continue to remain united in their efforts to improve working conditions for these nurses.
Additionally, Kate has won TWO additional elections for two NEW bargaining units at One-Health clinics in Livingston, Bozeman, and Belgrade and, her most recent win at the Big Sky Medical Center in Big Sky!

Internally, we are continuing to focus on member engagement and education to ensure that our current members are well-informed and actively participating in union activities.

These achievements are a testament to the dedication and hard work of our the MNA Labor staff, our members and leaders. We want to recognize your MNA Labor Team, Robin Haux, MNA Labor Program Director; your three MNA Labor Representatives, Amy Hauschild, BSN, RN, Leslie Shepherd, BSN, RN, and Emily Peterson; and your MNA Organizer, Kate Crego! Your labor team remains committed to advancing the interests of our nurses and will continue prioritize nurse retention in Montana.

Good afternoon everyone! My name is Michelle Daly and I am the Council on Practice and Government Affairs Representative to the Board of Directors.

It's a pleasure to be here today to speak about the Council on Practice and Government Affairs—CPGA—an essential governing body within the Montana Nurses Association. While the council has been inactive in recent years, we are excited to announce a renewed commitment to its mission and responsibilities. As we look ahead, we are determined to bring this council's goals to life and foster deeper engagement across our nursing community.

As our bylaws state, the CPGA exists to support nurses in interpreting and implementing the American Nurses Association's professional standards of practice. It also plays a critical role in promoting informed participation in legislative and governmental matters that affect our profession and the patients we serve.

As we move forward, the council will strive to:

Educate and inspire nurses to apply ANA standards in their daily practice.
Inform nurses about mechanisms for reporting suspected ethical or legal concerns in healthcare.
Provide education on the legislative process, empowering nurses to be active participants in shaping policy.
Collaborate with the Montana Board of Nursing on shared concerns and initiatives.
Develop and revise a legislative platform based on input from MNA members and past legislative experience, reporting annually to the House of Delegates.
Recommend strategic plans of action to the Board of Directors and House of Delegates for effective legislative involvement, aligned with MNA's platform and policies.

In addition to these goals, we are proud to spotlight the State Workforce Advocacy Team, or SWAT—a dynamic group of MNA nurses, designed to respond rapidly to legislative or policy actions. Whether the issue calls for support or opposition, SWAT ensures that nurses' voices are heard directly by lawmakers. It is our grassroots response team, ready to act when nursing practice or patient care is at stake.

Any nurse in Montana can volunteer to be part of SWAT, and we encourage you to consider joining. For those serving on the CPGA council, membership in SWAT is automatic, ensuring that our most engaged leaders are always ready to respond.

As we reinvigorate the CPGA, we look forward to a year of renewed energy, collaboration, and advocacy. Together, we can ensure that the standards of our profession are upheld, our voices are amplified, and our impact is felt across Montana.

Michelle Daly, RN - CPGA Representative to the Board

Montana nurses have always stood at the intersection of science, evidence-based practice, and service. That intersection is now under attack, not by pathogens, but by misinformation and disinformation.

As nurses, we are not just caregivers. We are truth-tellers. We are protectors of public health. We are defenders of evidence-based practice and the ultimate advocate for our patients and communities.

Recent public discourse surrounding vaccines, medicines, and the role of health institutions has included misleading claims that distort the purpose of public health and cast doubt on the credibility of healthcare professionals. While skepticism toward information, especially when agendas may be involved, is healthy, it's important to recognize that misinformation can have serious consequences. It risks eroding public trust, creating confusion for families, and weakening the foundation of the healthcare profession itself.

When inaccurate statements about common medications or public health practices are amplified from the highest offices, they carry outsized influence, risk and fear. Nurses across Montana see the consequences of this confusion every day in our clinics, hospitals, and communities.

Montana nurses will not be silent. We will not allow politics to override science. We will not allow fear to replace facts. And we will not allow misinformation to compromise the health of our communities.

We reaffirm our commitment to the ANA Code of Ethics. We reaffirm our duty to educate, advocate, and lead with integrity. MNA supports every nurse across this state to use their professional nurse voice, knowledge, and commitment to science and evidence-based data to defend truth and protect the health of Montanans.

Vicky Byrd, MSN, RN CEO

Montana Nurses Association-Board of Directors

Anna Svendsen-Ammons, RN President
Laurie McKinney, RN Vice President
Lorie VanDonsel, RN Secretary
Elisabeth Fandrich-Tyson, RN Treasurer
Jen McElroy, RN Director at Large
Adrianne Harrison, RN EGW Representative to the Board
Michelle Daly, RN CPGA Representative to the Board
Deanna Babb, APRN CAP Representative to the Board

The Montana Asthma Control Program (MACP) and the Department of Public Health and Human Services are pleased to announce that the 2026 Big Sky Pulmonary Conference (BSPC) will be held March 5 - March 6, 2026, at the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. The BSPC is a continuing education conference for health professionals, which highlights promising methods of preventing and managing respiratory diseases and associated risk factors according to evidence-based guidelines. The 2026 conference will feature topics such as managing cystic fibrosis, considerations for lung transplant, remote monitoring in patients with lung disease, wildfire smoke research, sleep health, breastfeeding and pulmonary health, chronic cough from a primary care perspective, pediatric asthma, and more. This year, MACP is including an optional pre-conference spirometry training opportunity. If you are interested, make sure to "opt in" when completing the registration form.

For those unable to attend in person, a virtual option is also available. Conference registration (12 CME/CE hours) is only $220 if you register prior to February 15th.

Upon registration, MDs, DOs, NPs and FNPs will receive 1 free registration for any office staff also interested in attending the conference. If you are connected with a clinic and interested in attending, consider encouraging the clinic provider to register so you can attend as a team and get 1 free registration. Please contact the BSPC planner, Amy Saltzman, directly to assist with this. Amy can be reached at amy.saltzman@mso.umt.edu or (406) 531-4032.

The MACP is now accepting nominations for the Excellence in Pulmonary Care Award. The Excellence in Pulmonary Care Award honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding commitment, innovation, and impact in the field of pulmonary health. This award recognizes excellence across all areas of pulmonary health and is open to professionals working in both clinical and non-clinical roles. If you would like to recognize a colleague, complete the nomination form on the conference website. Awardees will be recognized at the conference. Interested parties can find conference details and register online at umt.edu/ces/conferences/bigskypulmonary.

SILVER SPRING, MD — October 13, 2025 — The American Nurses Association (ANA) proudly celebrates a historic victory for nurses and patients alike: for the first time ever, nurse staffing has been elevated within The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals, now renamed the National Performance Goals.

This milestone marks the culmination of years of tireless advocacy, collaboration, and leadership by ANA and its partners, who worked to elevate safe staffing as a core component of patient safety and care quality. The new National Performance Goal 12 requires health care organizations to demonstrate compliance with policies and procedures related to nurse staffing and numeration, including the requirement that a nurse is on duty whenever Critical Access Hospitals have one or more inpatients. The standard will take effect January 1, 2026, carrying significant implications for accreditation and reimbursement.

"Today's achievement is a defining moment for the nursing profession and for patient care across the nation," said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, President of the American Nurses Association. "For decades, nurses have sounded the alarm that safe staffing saves lives. The inclusion of nurse staffing as a national performance goal validates what nurses have always known, that adequate staffing is essential to prevent patient harm, improve patient outcomes, and create a safer environment. While this marks a tremendous step forward, we will continue to advocate for all accrediting bodies to adopt similar standards so that every hospital upholds safe staffing as a top priority."

Through convening the National Nurse Staffing Task Force, ANA played a key role in advancing this change, alongside its partners at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and others.

Katie Boston-Leary, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FADLN, FAONL, Senior Vice President of Equity & Engagement for American Nurses Enterprise, served as ANA's facilitator on the task force.

"This outcome demonstrates the power of persistence and the influence of the nursing voice in shaping national policy," said Boston-Leary. "It shows what's possible when we lead with evidence, unity, and an unwavering focus on patient safety."

For more information on the new National Performance Goals, visit: https://digitalassets.jointcommission.org/api/public/content/9ca80055182b4274842a5780a94f2c82?v=149a13a9

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Big Sky RNs at Big Sky Medical Center (BSMC) won their election to form their NEW professional nurses union and be represented by MNA in August 2025. The RNs at thfacility -- began organizing early this summer for nurse recruitment and retention, wage equity, and patient safety. The BSMC RNs join several other unions in the Big Sky community, including the firefighters and more recently, the Big Sky Ski Patrol.

The BSMC nurses organized quickly, and I wanted to share some of the key pieces that led to their success. I've worked on political campaigns in the past, as well as six successful nurse union elections in the last year. These points are applicable whether you're organizing at your workplace or strengthening an existing union.

Communication: The BSMC nurses had been collectively discussing/problem solving for several months prior to reaching out to MNA. The built-in infrastructure they created within their group made it easy to reach out to nurses for an initial meeting to discuss organizing, and several weeks later, to distribute and sign authorization cards to submit to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to file for their election. Not only did they use their text group to vent about work issues, but they developed relationships as colleagues that allowed them to work effectively together.
Leadership: Two nurse leaders, who supported the idea of having a union representation election, reached out to us initially in May. After initial conversations and meetings, another leader distributed authorization cards, others nurses offered to assist with the NLRB process, and another nurse volunteered to be our observer at the election. Union campaigns are not won by just one unifying leader -- it takes many nurses to participate along the way to win and build the strongest union possible.
Flexibility: Your MNA Labor Team learns something new with each election, and with this one, it was the NLRB's return to in-person elections post-Covid (our previous five elections were all mail-in ballots). Even though the BSMC nurses lived all over Gallatin County (and beyond!), they were able to coordinate rides and going into vote together to ensure there was enough turnout for a successful election. While we can provide an overview of the campaign steps, there are often unanticipated hurdles that occur along the way that nurses and MNA staff need to problem solve together.

Congratulations again to the BSMC nurses on their victory!

Reach out to MNA if you have questions about organizing your workplace or to discuss creating an internal organizing plan to improve engagement!

In my experience advocating with and for nurses, there is an undeniable truth. You are your Union strength. It is you all, the frontline caregivers, who possess the knowledge to identify issues, the power to drive change, and the ability transform your workplace. My role is to support and facilitate your efforts, but the true strength---the eyes, the ears, and the muscle---is yours.

It is in addressing sometimes challenging processes that real advocacy begins. What I may perceive as a high-priority issue (from my 'outsider' perspective) may be vastly different from what you, the nurses doing the work every day, identify as a priority. This is why the entire process for positive change should be rooted in your union members identifying the issue. Your perspective is powerful. You are the experts. You see and deal with the realities of your work every day, and that insight is what identifies the changes your union should tackle.

Nurses are naturally brilliant troubleshooters. You regularly manage complex, high-stakes situations, often coming up with the most simple and ingenious solutions under pressure. This skill set is precisely what we need to leverage when identifying issues for your union to address.

When an issue is brought forward, I encourage nurses to adopt a solution-focused mindset. Instead of stopping at "This is broken," we ask:

What is the ideal outcome? What does a better process or condition look like?
What steps could we take to move in that direction?
What resources or support would be needed to implement a change?

By looking at issues through a solution focused lens, we move faster, generate more constructive proposals, and ensure our advocacy efforts are directed toward positive change. This is the difference between simply identifying an issue and being a part of the solution.

You, though your union, have the incredible strength to stand together and create positive change in your workplaces. You have the power to bring issues to light and be the change agents in your facilities. Most of our locals have Labor Management or Professional Conference Committees for this exact purpose.

I am immensely grateful to the nurses who continue to show up to PCC and bring their concerns forward because they are the drivers of the positive changes that have already improved working conditions and patient care in their workplaces.

I want to encourage each and every one of you to keep bringing issues forward. Keep advocating for what matters to you and your patients. When you bring the problems, bring your solutions too---together, you are the unstoppable force of your union.

Collective Bargaining Wins:

Organizing Wins:

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