News Flash from Texas Nurse Practitioners: Texas Nurses Association's Dr. Serena Bumpus, Director of Practice
Posted about 4 years ago by Laura Greek in TNP Updates
This link provides an enlightening analysis by Dr. Serena Bumpus, TNA Director of Practice who spoke with the State of Reform about the complex factors that influenced the outcome of the 87th Legislative Session bills related to advanced practice nursing bills.
The flagship HB 2029/SB 915, sponsored by Representative Stephanie Klick/Senator Hancock, proposed to remove the requirement for physician delegation agreements and place APRNs under the exclusive regulatory authority of the Texas BON. With the goal of increasing access to care for Texans across the state, explicitly without changing the APRN scope of practice, Representative Klick, who also chaired the House Public Health Committee, was an excellent advocate for this bill. HCNPA member/VP Laura Greek and other NP colleagues testified in favor of HB 2029, along with many others, including a number of physicians advocating on behalf of the Texans for Healthcare Access Coalition. There was a full house for this hearing, and the bill was left pending. However, it is believed there was an organized effort to frame this bill as an attempt to change the scope of NP practice, and therefore HB 2902 did not advance further during this session. Nevertheless much progress was made, including a growing number of organizations who joined the Coalition during this legislative session who will continue to advocate for the cause.
Please reach out to Representative Klick or Senator Hancock, especially if you have family, friends or colleagues who live their districts! They will especially appreciate a personal thank you via email, phone or handwritten note. Let's offer our support for the expansion of health care access and removal of barriers that prevent APRNs from fully serving their communities!
We wait to see the agenda the upcoming special session, and ask for your personal support and involvement with TNP as we prepare for the 88th Legislative Session in 2023.