The Washington Nurse Magazine

WSNA provides representation, education and resources that allow nurses to reach their full professional potential and focus on caring for patients. WSNA has represented nurses in our state since 1908, leveraging our collective voice to successfully advocate with employers, state agencies and the state Legislature for better working conditions, safe staffing, fair compensation and patient safety.

More and more babies are coming into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at MultiCare Mary Bridge, and nurse staffing isn’t keeping up. Despite an agreement the hospital reached with the Washington State Nurses Association to maintain certain minimum staffing standards in the NICU, nurses are regularly working without enough staff, and their patient loads are going up.

Find out how to claim CNE Ben Danielson, MD, (he/him) is a pediatrician and advocate for the health and well-being of children and families with low incomes. For 20 years, he served as the medical director of Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic – a post he resigned from in November 2020 to protest ongoing racist and discriminatory practices at Seattle Childrens’.

The WSNA Labor Executive Council enthusiastically endorsed the re-election of April Sims and Cherika Carter to lead the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), the state’s largest labor organization. The election will be held in October 2026. Sims was elected the president of the WSLC and Carter the secretary treasurer in October 2022 with WSNA’s strong support. They took office in January 2023 and made election history.

Seattle Children’s Hospital lost its appeal of the jury verdict awarding Dr. Ben Danielson $21 million for working in a hostile work environment. The Washington State Court of Appeals made its ruling on May 26. The appellate court found that there was substantial evidence for a reasonable juror to conclude that Danielson, an African American physician, faced a racially hostile work environment and was demoted after pushing back against institutional budgeting decisions.

Beginning July 1, 2026, Washington State will extend new reporting requirements for meal and rest break compliance to small and rural hospitals across the state. Hospitals are already required to provide uninterrupted meal and rest breaks for employees and to record when an employee misses a meal or rest period.

WSNA provides representation, education and resources that allow nurses to reach their full professional potential and focus on caring for patients. WSNA has represented nurses in our state since 1908, leveraging our collective voice to successfully advocate with employers, state agencies and the state Legislature for better working conditions, safe staffing, fair compensation and patient safety.

This year, nearly 300 candidates have registered with the Secretary of State to run for the state legislature, and the WSNA Political Action Committee (PAC) Board of Trustees is interviewing dozens of candidates seeking WSNA PAC endorsement. Staff and the PAC Board work diligently to be transparent and consistent throughout the endorsement process. While not all candidates apply for endorsements, all are invited to do so.

The suit asks a federal court to block the rule excluding nursing from the “professional degree” list before it takes effect July 1.

Nurses targeted for retaliation by Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland over union activity have been vindicated following a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board. The Washington State Nurses Association filed four unfair labor practice charges against the hospital between March 1 and August 2, 2024. The cases were later consolidated into a single complaint.