The meetings are attended by periOperative Nurses from every Ohio AORN chapter. The meetings are normally held centrally in Columbus and the locations are being rotated. The meetings are quarterly and start at 12 noon Saturdays.


Josephine Colacci  jcolacci@aorn.org  Government Affairs Manager, AORN - Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, 170 South Parker Rd., Suite 402, Denver, CO 80231, 303-755-6304 x366, 800-755-2676, 303-755-4219 fax  Join grassroots either by calling headquarters, 1-800-755-2676 ext. #1 Customer Service, or going online with AORN under Legislative then grassroots or e-mail grassroots@aorn.org. It costs nothing to join grassroots.
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The Ohio General Assembly passed Senator Sue Morano's Comprehensive Nursing Education Bill (SB 89) This bill addresses a critical shortage in nursing educators across Ohio. 
SB 89 will restructure the allocation of Nurse Education Assistance Program (NEALP):  The Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents would be given the authority to reallocate 25% of NEALP.  The money would be directed to nursing programs with the most need for assistance.
SB 89 will enable the Ohio Skills Bank to serve as mediator between universities and hospitals:  The Ohio Skills Bank, administered by the Board of Regents, would collaborate with educational programs to meet the needs for nursing education in every region of the state.  The goal of this provision is to enable nurses to serve as mentors for nursing students, while also allowing hospitals and nursing programs to work together in coming up with solutions to the nursing educator shortage.
SB 89 will adjust requirements for Advance Practice Nurses (APN):   APNs that have had prescriptive authority in another state for at least one continuous year within the last three years would not be required to repeat their APN training under an Ohio physician. These APNs would need to be able to provide the appropriate documentation to the Ohio Board of Nursing in order to get their license.