A legislator in Washington State faces nurses' reactions – including several online petitions, including one calling for her resignation – after stating that nurses working in smaller hospitals could spend a lot of time playing games. cards.

Republican Senator Maureen Walsh made these comments last week during a debate on a bill proposing meal breaks and uninterrupted breaks for nurses, as well as additional protections against mandatory overtime.

"By assigning this type of mandate to a critical access hospital literally serving a handful of people, I would submit that these nurses probably have breaks," Walsh told the Senate on Tuesday. "They are probably playing cards for a considerable amount of the day."

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About 35,000 people signed an online petition asking Walsh to follow a local nurse for 12 hours. Four thousand more, Sunday afternoon, asked Walsh to resign in a new petition.

The hashtags #maureenwalsh and #nursesplaycards also have a tendency on social media, drawing commentary on actress Kathy Griffin, who said her mother worked in a hospital.

"Thanks for letting a group know that even I'm not stupid enough to piss off. Already," Griffin tweeted.

The Washington State Nurses Association website crashed on Friday after too many people judged a blog post describing Walsh's comments as disrespectful and condescending.

Walsh said Saturday at the Tri-City Herald that she had no malicious intent.

"I was tired," she said. "I said something that I would not have liked."

The Walla Walla County legislator, however, remains opposed to the bill and supports an amendment that would exclude nurses working in hospitals with fewer than 25 beds of uninterrupted breaks.

While the bill was passed by the Senate with the amendment, the House passed it without amendment. Legislators will have to reconcile the different versions before it can become law.

The state nurses' association said recruiting nurses to rural hospitals was already a challenge. Denying them uninterrupted breaks and imposing mandatory overtime would further complicate the recruitment process, the association said.

Rest breaks also reduce fatigue, which can lead to medical errors, the association said.

The bill would require nurses and staff such as surgical technologists to have uninterrupted meal and rest periods, except in unforeseen circumstances. If a 10-minute break is interrupted, the bill will require an additional 10-minute break.

Contribute: The Associated Press

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