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As the legislative session winds to a close in the coming weeks, there has still been resistance in the House to hearing our bills. This has become an expected outcome of a push-back response to the aggressive tactics taken last year to get our legislation passed. That being said, we are remarkably appreciative of the efforts of Speaker Oliva, Representative Pigman, and our other Congressional champions for their efforts last year. Despite there being no movement on our scope of practice bills since our last update, we are still monitoring numerous bills that could impact nurse practitioners as well as SB 1142, which affects the CRNAs. We have asked you to send letters supporting our CRNA colleagues and may continue to ask for your support as the bill moves forward.
We are also monitoring the budget request for the Florida Center for Nursing. As you may recall, the Florida Center for Nursing was closed last year having been defunded in the budget. This is unacceptable as the Florida Center of Nursing is vitally important. The Center conducts an analysis of Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses every two years to get a picture of Florida's nurse supply - including the number of nurses, demographics, education, employment status, and specialization. This information is then used as the foundation for our efforts to improve the workforce in nursing for Florida.
In regards to our APRN issues and agenda, we have shifted our focus to seeking more legislative champions in preparing for the 2022 legislative session. We are educating on the issues and encouraging advocacy for APRNs, looking to address items left out of or impacted by HB 607 such as Schedule 2 restrictions and primary refill authority. And we will be advocating for Autonomous APRNs to supervise other APRNs. We are also continuing to work with the Board of Nursing and Department of Health in the rulemaking process and implementation of HB 607 to include the full inclusion of mental health provision as an integral part of primary care practice.
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