California Watch

The state’s powerful nurses union and several other health professional groups are gearing up to oppose a set of reforms that would make it harder for addicted or incompetent health professionals to work for years before seeing a license pulled.

Flickr photo by ulrichkarljoho

The proposed changes to state law came in reaction to stories by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times that exposed bureaucratic inertia standing in the way of patient safety, as troubled nurses harmed patients time and again. 

Reporters Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber added to their coverage Friday, noting that the nurses union was opposing aspects of the law.

Of particular concern to the nurses, the article says, is a provision that would mandate employers to tell regulators if a worker has been fired for gross negligence, harming a patient or problems related to addiction.

It’s a modus operandi that already applies in 36 states and to California’s licensed vocational nurses. Here’s more back-and-forth on that provision from the ProPublica report:

The nurses association, with a membership of 86,000, said it opposes mandatory reporting because it could punish whistleblowers who believe they were unfairly dismissed by their employers.