UPDATE 3/9/17:
Fellow OKNAPNAP members:
The following is a call for action from AONP. It will only take a few minutes to make the contacts that are being requested. If you want talking points, there is a whole tool kit on the AONP website under the Legislative tab. I will make an effort to share them with this group in a separate email. Biggest rule of thumb is to remember to remain polite and not to talk down about any other group, (ie, physicians). It would be really helpful if we could keep a count on the responses that people get. If you would email me, I will get it to AONP. If you are a member of AONP, feel free to respond directly to them. This is a huge push for all NPs across the state. Please join in this effort, even if you do not feel that it will affect the job you have today. We never know what tomorrow will bring or where we will be working. If you have any questions, please contact me. Thanks for all of your help.
-Trish Farmer, Legislative Chair
As you know, HB 1013 successfully passed the House of Representatives. The bill must now make its way through the Oklahoma Senate. Later this week or the first of next week it will be assigned to a Senate committee. It is imperative that it receive a good committee assignment.
You can be of tremendous help. Call, write, email, or visit your Oklahoma State Senator. Ask them to support HB1013 and then ask how they are voting. Then, contact the Floor Leader, Greg Treat, and Senate’s President Pro Tempore, Mike Schulz, and ask that the bill receive a different committee assignment than the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. If it is assigned to the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Dr. Ervin Yen, it is dead.
Senator Mike Schulz, President Pro Tempore
Oklahoma State Senate
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 422
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Senator Greg Treat, Majority Floor Leader
Oklahoma State Senate
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 418
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Please start today and email me where your Senator stands on this vote. Senator AJ Griffin, our Senate author, is beginning her work. She will also contact the Rural Caucus and others to help us get this piece of legislation passed.
The Association of Oklahoma Nurse Practitioners (AONP) has developed a bill in an effort to bring full practice authority to APRN’s. The bill is HB 1013 and is being introduced in the house by Representative Josh Crockroft, R-Wannete. The legislative session will begin on Monday February 6, 2017. We encourage you to stay alert and track the progress of this bill. AONP and Oklahoma Association of Nurse Anesthetists (OANA) will be having a legislative day at the capitol on Tuesday February 7, 2017. AONP will meet at 9:00 a.m., at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive. OANA will meet at in a room at the capitol. These events are seeking APRN involvement. Details can be determined by contacting these APRN organizations. As evidenced by the recent success within the Veterans Administration allowing full practice authority for 3 of the 4 APRN specialties, and the tremendous support through public comment for the need to additionally consider adding nurse anesthetists, our voices are being heard and thoughtfully considered.
HB 1013 is scheduled to be heard, and voted on, by the House of Representatives’s Business, Commerce & Tourism Committee, February 8th, at 10:30am, in room 432A, of the State Capitol.
Please contact the each member of this committee and ask them to vote “yes” on HB1013. It would be beneficial to have as many NPs attend this committee meeting as possible. If you are able to attend, be sure to wear your lab coat so you are easily recognizable as a medical professional.
Contact Info. for Business, Commerce & Tourism Committee Members:
Donnie Condit
Jason Dunnington
Roger Ford
Regina Goodwin
Claudia Griffith
Elise Hall
Dell Kerbs
Mark McBride
Randy McDaniel
Kevin McDugle
Glen Mulready
Tess Teague
Kevin West
email: Kevin.West@okhouse.govHere is more information provided by AONP and ONA regarding this upcoming legislation:
ONA’s APRN Tool Kit
http://www.oklahomanurses.org/Homepage-Category/News/APRN-Toolkit.html Talking Points for HB 1013
http://www.oklahomanurses.org/Doc-Vault/Advocacy/APRN-FPA-Talking-Points-HB-1013.pdfTips for Talking with Legislators
http://www.oklahomanurses.org/Doc-Vault/Advocacy/Tips-for-effective-legislative-communication.pdfUpdate 2/27/17
Update potential policy change in relation to HB 1013
Wednesday, March 1 is when House Bill 1013 will be heard on the House floor. Please call your legislator and educate them on the importance that HB 1013 has for Oklahoma and why it is important to remove restrictions from APRN practice. Use the talking points below. You may also go to the APRN Tool Kit.
If you don’t know your legislator, click here here.· House Bill 1013, by Rep. Josh Cockroft would grant nurse practitioners and other advanced practice registered nurses full authority to provide primary care services.
· By allowing APRNs to practice at the full scope of their capabilities, Oklahoma would have an opportunity to:
· Increase access to affordable health care, particularly in rural areas;
· Address a shortage of primary care providers;
· Offer consumers shorter drives and shorter wait times;
· Improve public health;
· Offer consumers the freedom to make the health choices that are right for them and their families.
· Currently, supervision is only on prescriptive authority for APRNs. In Oklahoma 54% of APRNs report paying their supervising physician for this service. Fees range from a monthly fee to percentage of gross payments received.
· Passage of the bill would also spur economic development in rural parts of the state. Businesses are unlikely to relocate to areas without an adequate health care infrastructure. Plus, each new clinic that opens creates new jobs.
· Oklahoma is one of only 12 states that require a physician to supervise APRNs in some way. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia offer APRNs full practice authority. Seventeen states have laws that fall between restricted practice and full practice authority for APRNs.
· South Dakota has recently passed full practice authority legislation
· Texas has also introduced full practice authority legislation this session
· The Board of Nursing currently licenses APRNs. The Board of Nursing holds them accountable for practicing within the individual APRNs role, education, certification and training. APRN’s practice in one of four roles. Each role has a list of focus areas that clearly defines and limits the APRN practice
HB 1013 has been endorsed by AARP, Americans for Prosperity, Health Care Alliance, and many hospitals, including St. Anthony’s Health System, Saint Francis Health System, St. John’s Trauma Centers, and many rural hospitals.