ATLANTA (February 21, 2007) – The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. (AAOHN) has released its 2007 public policy platform. Through a number of strategies, AAOHN takes action on emerging occupational and environmental health and safety, professional practice, and national and global regulatory and public policy issues. Priority issues addressed in AAOHN’s 2007 public policy include hazard preparedness, confidentiality of health information, health and productivity, the Nurse Licensure Compact, quality of work environments and workplace violence prevention. "To develop its 2007 public policy platform, AAOHN received input from the Association’s members and through environmental scanning," said Susan A. Randolph, president of AAOHN. "While the overall priority issues have remained the same, the subject matter has evolved and has been revised to reflect the changing national scope of each issue. For example, as healthcare costs continue to rise, employers are shifting away from the idea of reducing employee health risk to keeping employees healthy. AAOHN supports incentives to enhance health promotion, disease prevention, and other strategies to integrate lifestyle improvement programs into national policy as a means of reducing health care costs."
Additional refinements were made to ensure that current public policy priorities are consistent with the Association’s mission and ENDS set by the Board of Directors. AAOHN’s ENDS define what results, for whom and at what cost.
"Each of these priorities address current issues and trends that impact the health and safety of employees, workplaces, and communities," said Randolph. "AAOHN advocates on behalf of occupational and environmental health nurses who, as recognized leaders in occupational and environmental health and safety, have the knowledge and competencies integral to the development of innovative and business-compatible health and safety programs and the business skills to address outcomes, productivity and cost-savings."
The AAOHN 2007 Public Policy Platform is available at www.aaohn.org/public_policy, or by calling (800) 241- 8014 x 0.
Established in 1942, AAOHN is a 10,000 member professional association dedicated to advancing the health, safety and productivity of domestic and global workforces by providing education, research, public policy and practice resources for occupational and environmental health nurses. The AAOHN is the largest group of health care providers serving the worksite.
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