Petition Drive

We Did It! Petitions Delivered to Congress!

On Thursday morning, May 9, NCCNHR president Diane Menio presented your petitions for federal staffing standards at a congressional press conference on Capitol Hill. Three members of the House of Representatives – Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Rep. Brad Carson of Oklahoma, and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia – gratefully accepted the 98,000 names at the event, hosted by Rep. Henry Waxman of California. Waxman is introducing a bill that will require nursing homes to meet the staffing standards recommended by the recent report to Congress on nurse staffing ratios in nursing homes. (See full text of bill.)

Two family members who helped collect signatures – Nadene Mitcham of Michigan and Belinda Clay of Florida – participated in the press conference. Also present was Danielle Giordano of Pennsylvania, who collected 3,000 names in her home state and coordinated the petition drive as a NCCNHR intern in 2001.

NCCNHR expresses its deep appreciation to everyone who took this campaign to heart and took time to collect signatures and send us messages about their personal experiences. Some of your messages were read by Donna Lenhoff, NCCNHR Executive Director, at the press conference and at a briefing later in the Capitol for congressional staff members. Also at this briefing, Charlene Harrington presented her research findings supporting NCCNHR's staffing recommendations. 

Those who will be challenged with enacting staffing legislation were clearly moved by your concern.

Read Diane Menio's presentation of the petitions.

Read Donna Lenhoff's remarks.

See Charlene Harrington's PowerPoint presentation.

See Press Release, May 9, 2002

Read Nadene Mitcham's remarks

Read  Belinda Clay's comments.