Evidence says that when nurses are safe, patients are safe. When nurses are not safely staffed, mortality, readmissions and medical errors increase. Nurses are the frontline healthcare workers and ethically-bound to advocate for the care of their patients. Putting patients first means investing in safe nurse staffing. Safe Staffing Units at UCMC are continually short staffed – a potentially dangerous practice that can lead to compromised patient care, especially with the ill patients UCMC sees as a result of being the Greater Cincinnati area’s only Level 1 trauma center. Although the medical center’s nurse staffing plans call for more nurses, UCMC is requiring nurses to care for more patients than ever. UCMC nurses routinely work short staffed which leads to exponential turnover, nurse fatigue, burnout, and increased risk of harm to their patients. Nurses at UCMC are standing united in their efforts to put patients first, demanding the medical center invest in safe nurse staffing. Safe nurse staffing means Cincinnatians receive the quality care they deserve. Nurse Turnover Nurses at UCMC have to be the top in their field; they care for sickest patients in the tri-state area. Yet, UCMC nurses are paid up to $4/hour less than nurses at neighboring hospitals. The lower wages coupled with short staffing has caused record turnover. In three years, UCMC has lost over 800 skilled nurses. Nearly 1,000 letters were sent to the medical center’s new Chief Nursing Officer outlining the nurses’ issues and asking for a collaborative opportunity to make things right. While the nurses are hopeful for change, they need your help to ensure their voices are heard. Sign this petition to tell UCMC management to listen to the nurses and put patients first. About RNA and UCMC The Registered Nurses Association (RNA) is the union representing the registered nurses of University of Cincinnati Medical Center. With approximately 1,500 members, RNA advocates for quality health care and strives to provide the best care in the tri-state area. RNA is currently negotiating a contract with UCMC that ensures quality patient care and safe nurse staffing. RNA is a constituent of the Ohio Nurses Association, AFT Nurses and Health Professionals and the American Nurses Association. UCMC is a comprehensive, teaching hospital that provides access to health care for all of the Tri-State area, regardless of ability to pay. Cincinnati families depend on UCMC being ready for any health emergency and medical condition. UCMC is the only Level 1 trauma center in the city, only one of seven psychiatric emergency departments in the country, conducts liver, kidney, pancreas and heart transplants, is a comprehensive stroke center and holds burn, heart failure, perinatal and baby friendly certifications.

We must change our laws to save the lives of those who suffer from mental illness and brain damage as a result of doctors, work-related injuries, accidents, repeated head trauma concussions, by accident, medical negligence, and bullying. The police fail to respond when called. In many states, their hands are tied. If a loved one calls and knows that their loved one is intent on suicide, and if they are asked the typical questions by the police, they deny they intend to harm themselves or others, so the police leave. In my own situation, the police were in fact well aware that my husband suffered brain damage, two frontal lobe strokes, and that I had all the legal documents required to make all decisions regarding his care; signed, witnessed, and notarized by my own state representatives. But the day I called them for help and assistance, they refused to even look at my documents, which I always keep by my front door for emergency assistance. One time they showed up and actually threatened to lock everyone up in my home except me when my husband was having a violent outburst due to the brain damage caused by the doctors in Naples, Florida, who indeed got away with what they did to my husband. First, the doctors offered $500; I guess that is the going rate for a life in Florida. Then, They offered nothing, instead used our deceased 2-year-old daughter as a weapon and used that as the cause of him taking his life on June 4, 2016. It was never even about money, but being held accountable, admitting they indeed did misread his MRIs, which was proven; that they apologize and acknowledge they made a horrible mistake that resulted in brain damage, which ended with my beloved husband’s suicide. We will never get over the years he suffered, we watched the happy man he was become a shell of a man; a man who believed he was a burden who would forget to eat. He started hearing things, his eyesight going, the constant pain in his head from the holes they drilled into his head. I took my husband, as did 911 Assistance, to that hospital with discharge after discharge, and the whole time he was slowly dying. The final trip, after he was released yet again - three trips in three days - they told me after I called to complain, sick with worry about why they kept discharging him, the head nurse told me sarcastically that if I was not happy to bring him back, which I did. They asked him his pain level on a scale of 1 to 10; he said a 12. They joked and never even checked him, ordering him a Percocet and left him in the bed. I had no idea he was in fact already dying; his brain had already shifted and hemorrhaged from the subdural hematoma. They in fact never did pay a penny; laughed with smug arrogance, and used our dead child as a weapon against him. Even in death, they disrespected him. The Philadelphia police, of course, covered up their actions that horrible day. Since when do you need a judge’s order for an MRI? You do not, especially when they knew he suffered brain damage and found him before and took him to a mental hospital for care because he was so depressed; brain damaged and depressed. We must change our laws so that when police are called by anyone in fear of their loved one's life, they know something is terribly wrong. Yet the police do nothing unless the person admits their intent, which nobody intent on suicide ever admits. Then those loved ones rush to get a judge’s order and too many times are too late, their loved ones did end their life. As suicide shatters loved ones and families, my numbers are growing every day. The suffering of those left behind to try to understand what they could have done; even knowing the signs does not help if the police when called walk away only to be called back after the person is gone. My own husband, I never even had the chance to hold him, reassure him he would be ok because I was rushing to do what the Philadelphia police told me to do, because they said to me, call us back when you have a judges order. Internal Affairs covered up what they did. No lawyer would go up against the Philadelphia police due to the change in liability laws. So I lost a husband, my children a father, grandbabies their Pop Pop. We are losing the war on suicide, and it is a war. We must remove the stigma attached to those who suffer; suffer in silence. I for one am tired of our children ending their lives from bullying; that is another petition. I have to make bullying a federal offense and classified as a hate crime; hold parents accountable for the cruel actions of their children that result in the death of another child by suicide. We must not let the police ignore our pleas for help for our loved ones. They have no problem locking up a drunk but do not do anything when called for assistance for a person intent on suicide. Please sign and share. It is time for a change in accountability. I had a police officer and a schoolteacher ask me if I could help them since their hands are tied when it comes to mental illness and brain damage. Will I be the voice for them? Yes, I am. I would never want any family to suffer as mine does. My own son was bullied so bad he has been in therapy for over 22 years and has tried 9 times to take his life. I worry everyday will he still be with me when I wake up, and he found his father still alive on our deck with tears rolling down his face as he and my neighbor tried to save him. He was never even taken by ambulance, and the police just left my home as I was rushing to get home to him to take him myself, but it was too late. But it is not too late for others. Please help change our laws. Give the power the police need to listen and act on our fears. It will save many lives.

This petition is in honor of Jade Bridier's battle with DIPG ( Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas). Many are not aware of the severity of the brain tumor in children. Parents shouldn't be the only ones raising funds. We need national support to change the 4% given to pediatric cancer research. Please consider signing and helping us start with Texas and grow nationally.

I want to fight for our families, friends, those we know and those we don't. Life is short enough. For such a preventable situation, we need financial resources, better facilities, more professionals and those that not only treat adults but minors, there is extreme lack of care for minors. We need better background checks so there isn't internal abuse to those who are seeking treatment and not adding to the list of what they are going through. We need your help today to spread the word now. Remember it starts with ONE.

THE ISSUE Our children are at risk. Our government does nothing. There are 99 operating nuclear power reactors in the United States today. Should an accident occur, anyone under age 40, especially children, would be threatened with cancer caused by radiation. But the risk to the general public can be almost completely eliminated by a simple pharmaceutical known as KI (potassium iodide). It’s a pill that gives virtually complete protection from the threat. In volume, the pills cost pennies. Chernobyl proved that KI works. The Soviets had some, and children who got it were protected. But children who couldn’t get the pills developed thyroid cancer at epidemic rates. In Poland, every child received KI at the time of Chernobyl, and all were protected. But in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, where no KI was on hand, at least 6000 children developed cancer due to the accident. Almost all were located more than 30 miles downwind. Nothing else had a similar effect. In fact, 10 years after the accident, medical researchers concluded that “except for thyroid cancer” no statistical increase in others cancers or radiation effects could be identified. In light of the need for childhood thyroid cancer protection, our government agreed to stockpile KI. But nuclear authorities decided to restrict stockpiling efforts to just 10 miles around our power plants, even though they knew that the danger extended well-beyond this distance. This restriction means that in an emergency most children would be unable to get the pills and thousands could develop cancer. All preventable. Radiation emergencies (from weapons or power plants) have happened in the past and are likely to happen again. Let's demand that enough KI be available to protect every child within 50-miles of our nuclear power plants. Let’s protect all of our children—not just some. HISTORY Following September 11, US authorities agreed to stockpile KI for individuals living near US nuclear facilities. Although the risk from low radiation levels (which lead to cancer) extended for at least 50 miles, the nuclear industry chose to focus their emergency response efforts only on high radiation levels—which kill before cancer has time to develop—and which are seldom found beyond ten-miles. The threat of cancer, and KI, is ignored. Instead, evacuation, sheltering, and food control are suggested protective measures. EVACUATION/SHELTERING Although any individual would be safer if they evacuate, the ability to empty cities and quickly move millions of people out of danger is far from certain. Further, millions of people all trying to leave at once would undoubtedly complicate other emergency response programs and introduce serious traffic risks. Worse, where evacuation is not feasible, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) suggests “sheltering.” In other words, staying indoors until the danger has passed. But having millions of people remain in contaminated areas, breathing radioactive air and drinking radioactive water (from irradiated reservoirs), would be a radiological disaster. For anyone remaining in an irradiated area without KI, the cancer risk would be very high. FOOD CONTROL To reduce the risk, the NRC recommends the destruction of all milk and food grown on lands that are within 50 miles of a radiation release. This is necessary to prevent highly radioactive products from reaching the public where they would be eaten and cause thyroid cancer. This has never been tried, and no one knows how many farmers will comply. But what is known is that if farms will be contaminated at 50 miles, so will the farmers—and everyone else at this distance. Only the wide availability of KI can effectively protect the millions of threatened people who live within the 50-mile range. CONCLUSION It is difficult to justify the government’s decision to protect some children and not others. It is difficult to understand how officials could consider food control and mass evacuations sufficient, and to deliberately choose to limit KI availability despite the known danger. It is hard to see how these actions serve America or what benefit they provide. There is no coherent reason why KI should not be added to the country’s emergency response plans. Our officials know this. In fact, following the Chernobyl accident, a former NRC Chairman stated that “Evacuation and potassium iodide would have significantly reduced the incidence of thyroid cancer.” He called the Soviet’s callous disregard for the health of their children a “failure of a society to take care of its people.” Surely America can do better than that. Sign the Petition to demand that our government stockpile an adequate supply of KI to protect ALL of our children. For additional information and documentation, go to www.KIFacts.com. This petition is sponsored by Anbex.com.

I touched the screen of my new cell phone in Oct. 2016 and a pain shot up my arm and changed my life. It tried to give me breast cancer but I'm a health nut and knew what to do, but ischemic strokes are up, brain tumors are up...epidemic illness already exists in this Rx pill-popping nation. We makeup 5% of the globe but consume 70% of the Rx drug supply AND we're in last place for health according to the 2014 Social Index Report. CAN WE PLEASE STOP BEING SO FOOLISH?

Our veterans are still suffering due to toxic exposure! Veterans have been suffering for years with a variety of health issues that might have been managed better had they known about the toxins at Ft. McClellan. Today we are finding many veterans with severe health issues linked to their time spent at this toxic site. Some locations that were less toxic have been recognized, why not Ft. McClellan? The facts are there and It's time we addressed this for our veterans. Time to connect the dots. Please support those who have served by signing this petition. Thank you.

The Northwestern University Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) is asking the public to join in standing against the erasure of LGBTQ identities. On May 17th, The Williams Institute broke the news that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may no longer collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data through the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The potential removal of these LGBTQ questions from BRFSS is harmful to the nation’s ability to detect LGBTQ health disparities. Health and research institutions across the country, including ISGMH, have highlighted the importance of surveillance systems such as BRFSS in identifying and subsequently addressing the health disparities of LGBTQ populations. If the SOGI questions are removed from BRFSS, the federal government will have chosen not only to disregard the recommendations of experts in the field but to ignore its own guidelines to improve LGBTQ health data surveillance. The Healthy People 2020 Recommendations state that “Collecting SOGI data in health-related surveys and health records in order to identify LGBT health disparities,” is a critical method to improve LGBTQ health. Read the full statement: http://isgmh.northwestern.edu/2018/05/18/isgmh-responds-to-planned-cdc-rollback-of-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-questions-in-the-behavioral-risk-factor-surveillance-system-brfss/

Personal experience as an attorney and Registered Nurse.

Childhood Obesity Is An American Epidemic. More than 14 million U.S. children are obese ; meaning one out of every Five children.

To protect what workers have paid for throughout their careers.

There have been 18 deaths so far, and 32 infected, in the new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [1] Outbreaks of highly contagious, deadly diseases can usually be contained with the right support and responses. The United States has long led the way in providing the knowledge and resources needed to prevent small, local outbreaks from becoming globe-spanning epidemics, but we are currently under-prepared [2] to respond to a major public health threat. Everyone has a stake in preventing a return to a past where infectious diseases killed more people than wars. The White House needs to restore high-level pandemic response funding and bring in skilled public health experts to coordinate with medical response teams in the US and around the world. --- [1] - "A new Ebola outbreak has infected 32 people — and the White House official in charge of responses to global pandemics just left," by Kevin Loria, May 11, 2018. https://www.chron.com/technology/businessinsider/article/A-new-Ebola-outbreak-has-infected-32-people-12907228.php [2] - "Top White House official in charge of pandemic response exits abruptly," by Lena H. Sun, May 10, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/05/10/top-white-house-official-in-charge-of-pandemic-response-exits-abruptly/