Previous Story
House amends NMC nursing bill
|
Posted on Nov 29 2006
The House of Representatives has amended a Senate-introduced nursing bill to include a condition that nonresident nursing graduates of the Northern Marianas College can only work in the CNMI if no qualified nurses are available.
House Vice Speaker Justo Quitugua said the House passed with amendments Senate Bill 15-58 or the Nonresident Nurses Work Experience Waiver during a session Tuesday morning.
The bill was the only item on the House agenda that was acted on during the session since members opted to use most of their time discussing the federal minimum wage hike issue.
The House had also cut their session time to an hour to attend the monthly meeting of the Strategic Economic Development Council at the Governor’s Office at 10am.
The SEDC meeting focused on strategies to counter plans in the U.S. Congress to implement federal labor and immigration in the CNMI.
Quitugua said S.B. 15-58 was passed unanimously with amendments that he introduced.
“The bill will allow nonresident graduates of NMC’s nursing program to be hired without the required two-year experience. It waives that requirement. My amendment says that you can only be hired if there is no other qualified nurses available,” said Quitugua.
The bill goes back to the Senate for action. If passed by the upper chamber, the bill will go to the governor for signing.
The NMC leadership said earlier that it is in full support of the bill, saying it has the potential of greatly assisting the health care needs of the CNMI.
The Department of Public Health has been having difficulty attracting and retaining medical professionals, including nurses, due to tough competition from other jurisdictions. Most U.S. hospitals offer more attractive compensation packages for nurses. (Liberty Dones)
