New
Whistleblower Law turns workers into watchdogs By DEBORAH A. MILESThe Whistleblower Protection Law, signed last month by Gov. George Pataki broadens protection for state health care professionals who report wrongdoings or malpractice incidents to outside agencies. “This bill protects nurses and other health professionals. More importantly, it protects the quality of care in our health care system,” said PEF President Roger Benson, speaking at the bill-signing ceremony in New York City. “State Assembly Member Catherine Nolan and Sen. Nick Spano deserve great credit for understanding this and responding with an effective law,” Benson said. “Gov. Pataki also deserves credit for his leadership and approval of this important legislation.” It took the Legislature and the governor to enact the law. But they had a lot of encouragement from PEF and its nurses. “PEF and its Nurses’ Committee have worked actively on this bill for the past few years,” said PEF Legislative Director Brian Curran. “We have a commitment to improve the quality of care for patients and to improve the working lives of nurses and other health care professionals.” “It’s a key statute to protect nurses,” said PEF Executive Board Member Dee Dodson, a nurse at University Hospital in Stony Brook. “Now, we will be able to fulfill our ethical obligations and our role as advocates for patient safety.” Protects patients, workers Written for health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and other facilities, the new law allows employees to contact agencies such as the state Health Department when they have “reason to believe in good faith that reporting to a supervisor would not result in corrective action.” Other whistleblower laws say a public employee can report on violations of laws, rules or regulations that create a substantial danger to public health or safety. The new law, aimed at health care, has a broader definition of improper quality of patient care. “It includes the things related to general public health and safety, but also covers any practice, procedure, action or failure to act that may be a threat to the health of one or more patients,” Curran said.  Under the previous law, Curran said, employees must give a supervisor or appointed authority notice of the problem — allowing management an opportunity to correct it — prior to disclosing it to an outside agency. “This was a major concern,” Curran said. “Employees are hesitant to object to their supervisor about something. From prior discussions with a supervisor, an employee may realize the complaint won’t produce results, and may fear being disciplined.” Not bulletproof “This new statute gives the professional a level of comfort,” Curran said. “People can exercise their professional judgment on behalf of patient care, even if management is not receptive to it.” Under this law, employees are free to complain first to an outside agency that has oversight responsibility and ask them to intervene, but only if the employee has a good reason to believe management won’t correct the problem. But that doesn’t mean the whistleblower won’t be held accountable. “In the end, it will come down to: ‘Can you prove it?’ That means, not just the poor care, but your good reason to believe management would not correct it if you reported it to them first.” Curran said. Do the right thing The new law’s greatest importance, according to Curran: It encourages people to do the right thing. “The theory of this law is that the real enforcers of quality care in a health care environment should be the professionals who work there. “And if employees feel quality of care is not being maintained, they have to be encouraged to speak out and know the law protects them,” Curran said. “Giving them that protection means there will be a tremendous corrective effect on the practices of institutions, because their own employees will be holding them accountable.” |
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