March 22, 2016

American Nurses Association Endorses Hillary Clinton for President

As secretary of state, Clinton was an advocate for the rights and opportunities of women and girls, the LGBT community, and young people around the globe.

As a senator, she helped create grants that increased the number of Magnet^® hospitals, which are recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (an ANA subsidiary) for demonstrating excellence in patient care. Clinton also supported increased funding for both Title VII and Title VIII programs, which help address the higher education needs of nurses and nursing faculty. Additionally, she championed programs designed to attract more individuals to the nursing field, including efforts to improve the quality of nurses' work environments.

"Nurses ensure the delivery of quality health care to patients, families and society," said Cipriano. "By supporting efforts to improve nurses' work environments, Hillary Clinton shows she understands the impact nursing has on patient outcomes and the quality of care." 

As first lady, Clinton led early efforts to reform the U.S. health care system so that Americans would have access to affordable, high quality health care services. Notably, she worked with Republicans and Democrats to help create the successful Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health coverage to more than 8 million children and has helped cut the uninsured rate for children in half.

ANA and its Political Action Committee (ANA-PAC) endorse candidates who have demonstrated strong support for nursing and health care issues and who will best serve the interests of nurses and patients. Endorsement decisions are made based on candidate interviews, communication with ANA's constituent and state nurses associations, campaign information, the candidate's voting record on ANA priorities, and online polling of the ANA membership for their preferred candidates. In this year's poll, held Feb.16-March 1, Clinton garnered the most votes, beating the next leading candidate by more than 20 percentage points. For more information about ANA-PAC, click here.

ANA's endorsement was announced Tuesday, March 22, during a public event in Seattle with Secretary Clinton and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. To request pictures from the event, please email newsroom@ana.org.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is the premier organization representing the interests of the nation's 3.4 million registered nurses. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting a safe and ethical work environment, bolstering the health and wellness of nurses, and advocating on health care issues that affect nurses and the public. ANA is at the forefront of improving the quality of health care for all.

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Hillary for America

Hillary Clinton Statement on American Nurses Association Endorsement

Hillary Clinton released the following statement after earning the endorsement of the American Nurses Association:
 
“I am honored to have earned the endorsement of the American Nurses Association, which represents the interests of America’s 3.4 million registered nurses.
 
“Across the country, nurses provide vital medical care to countless Americans every year. They care for our families and friends, they comfort us in times of uncertainty and grief, and they maintain continuously high standards of medical practice. You won’t find a harder-working, more dedicated, and more trusted group of professionals anywhere.
 
“As President, I will always stand with America’s nurses in the fight to finally achieve universal, affordable health care and fight against any efforts to roll back the protections and coverage of the Affordable Care Act. I will always stand with American workers to protect their rights and safety on the job. And I will fight to ensure that patients get the very best care, including by addressing the looming nursing shortage, investing substantially in tackling America’s substance use disorder crisis, and finally taking mental health as seriously as we do physical health.”
 
 
For Immediate Release, March 22, 2016

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National Nurses United
March 24, 2016

NNU Statement on the ANA endorsement of Hillary Clinton

America’s nurses, including the actual largest organization of U.S. nurses, National Nurses United, overwhelmingly support Bernie Sanders for President.

That’s due to Sanders’ stellar record of consistent support for nurses, patients, and working families, exemplified in his campaign for guaranteed healthcare for all, through an improved and expanded Medicare for all, free college tuition and eradicating student debt which is also critical for nurses, and his challenge to Wall Street, which includes many health care corporations.

And Bernie Sanders is the only candidate who supports national legislation, sponsored by NNU, to establish mandatory limits on the number of patients assigned to each RN, Senate S. 864, which he co-sponsors, and the HR 1602.

By contrast, the American Nurses Association, which is supporting Hillary Clinton, is primarily a lobbying arm for the nurse administrators and academics who govern it and functions largely as an adjunct to the health care industry.

ANA’s Foundation, for example, features a corporate advisory board that includes pharmaceutical giants, such as Merck, Pfizer, and McKesson, and health industry technology companies, with major funding also from the health insurance industry, including the nation’s largest UnitedHealth, and hospital corporations.

Three of its advisory board corporate members, Avantos, Lippincott Solutions, and Kronos, actually promote healthcare restructuring techniques that would be harmful to nurses and patients, including cutting nursing hours and the nurse workforce and limiting the role of RN professional judgment. Another corporate board member is Epic, creator of the health IT/clinical decision software systems despised by so many direct care RNs.

Over the past two decades ANA has been hemorrhaging members – its ludicrous claim of 3.4 million members, the total number of U.S. nurses, is not actual ANA membership which is just a miniscule fraction of that number.

Working nurses know the difference. They’re joining NNU – which represents nurses who work at the bedside advocating for improved care and health and safety for nurses and patients – not their employers’ representative, the ANA. 

-- Jean Ross, RN, NNU Co-President