Members’ investigations prompt bills in Wash.
Filed under: Government, Health journalism, Health policy, Member news, Nursing, Pharmaceuticals
Three health-related bills moving through the Washington legislature came about as a result of articles reported by AHCJ members at The Seattle Times and InvestigateWest.
One bill is part of a “proposed overhaul of laws on long-term care of elderly adults” that was prompted by “Seniors for Sale,” a series by Seattle Times reporter and AHCJ member Mike Berens that detailed problems in the state’s adult family homes.
Another bill, unanimously approved by the state senate, will push a state agency to create standards on how to handle chemotherapy drugs. It was prompted by reporting from AHCJ member Carol Smith of InvestigateWest, a nonprofit journalism organization, that revealed that nurses who handle those drugs are exposed to health problems.
A related bill, intended to identify potential links between occupational exposures and cancer outcomes, also was unanimously approved by the senate. It would “require that a cancer patient’s occupation be reported to the registry, and that if the patient is retired, the patient’s primary occupation before retirement be reported,” InvestigateWest reports.
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