Letter: Don't force nurses to remain silent about quality of care

As a registered nurse and a member of the Nevada Nurses Association, I am concerned that I and my 2.6 million professional colleagues nationwide may be unable to speak out when risks to patient safety and quality of care arise.

Lapses in care can be life-threatening and patients across the country have suffered and, in some cases, died. Citizens of Nevada should know that RNs -- who provide 24-hour frontline care -- may be silenced by today's health care "industry" within which we work.

In fact, nurses have been intimidated, threatened, and fired for making their concerns about patient safety issues public.

You never know when you or a loved one will enter the doors of a hospital as a patient, so the time to act is now. Registered nurses need to be able to blow the whistle on patient health and safety violations without fear of retribution. It is vital that residents of Nevada have nurse advocates who are free to speak on their behalf.

The whistleblowing language in proposed federal legislation, the patient bill of rights, can afford much-needed patient protection. But patients, not nurses, need to make themselves heard by contacting their U.S. representative and their two U.S. senators to voice their support.

Diana Lombardo

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