Legislation to assure California hospitals have stronger measures to reduce workplace violence incidents continues to move forward in the California state legislature as it passed its first Assembly test Wednesday. Senate Bill 1299, introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla, and sponsored by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, was approved by the Assembly Labor Committee Wednesday, and now heads to the Assembly Health Committee next week. The bill won approval by the California Senate last month.

The nation’s largest organization of registered nurses, which also represents thousands of Veterans Affairs RNs, today called for substantial increases in funding at VA hospitals to ensure that veterans get the care they need – and offered qualified support for a proposal announced last week by Senators Bernie Sanders and John McCain to address the much discussed problems at VA facilities. National Nurses United also urged management reforms for the VA and a measure to ensure that nurses are empowered to advocate for quality care for patients. NNU said it opposes proposals that might decrease the quality of care by allowing VA funds to be used at private health care corporations.

Survey findings released as hospital CEOs gather for three days of golf, fine dining and networking at the luxurious chatham bars inn on Cape Cod. As well-heeled hospital CEOs plan to gather for three days of golf, lavish receptions and networking at one the state’s most luxurious resorts on the Cape, a new survey of the state’s doctors finds that most doctors (58%) have seen these executives cut valuable patient care services in order to increase profits, and 7 in 10 believe that greater transparency of hospital finances would help protect funding for needed services.