In the service organization of health care delivery, nursing has always had a front-and-center position. This sentiment was echoed yesterday with the merging of three nurses’ unions. The 150,000-member National Nurses United, made up of union locals from Maine to Hawaii, represents the largest single bargaining collective of healthcare professionals in this country.

Deborah Burger, president elect of the NNU and head of its largest constituent union, the California Nurses Association, called the merger a big step. ”It’s a huge day … not only for the nursing profession, but also for our patients,” she said. “We will be able to go to the halls of Congress and advocate for stronger patient protection, for better health care.”

Ms. Burger apparently is putting actions behind her words, describing the relative inactivity among the U.S. senators in getting this reform thing going. | LINK

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