"A Washington state senator has drawn the ire of nurses after remarks she made suggesting that nurses in smaller hospitals "probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day."

The Washington State Senate considered a bill Tuesday, SHB 1155, that would provide nurses with uninterrupted meal and rest periods.

“By putting these types of mandates on a critical access hospital that literally serves a handful of individuals, I would submit to you those nurses probably do get breaks. They probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day," Washington state Senator Maureen Walsh said on Tuesday during a debate on the Washington state Senate floor."


"Nursing groups are publishing Walsh’s contact information so they can make their feelings known. They also are suggesting that nurses send Walsh a deck of cards. From a nursing FB group: ATTENTION ALL NURSES: Please mail Senator Maureen Walsh a deck of cards. The address is: 504 15th Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98501

In her case, it shouldn’t be a full deck."

Wow. Nurses are extremely busy and spread too thin as it is without having to deal what that kind of crap.

Walsh's comment reminds me of the kind of flack that teachers often get. Yeah, nurses don't deserve that. They are very hard working.

So the state is doing the job that unions used to do, now that unions have been eliminated, and this senator isn’t having it. Nurses don’t get breaks and work a lot off the clock. State senators should try that.

Poor choice of words by the Senator.

It's really sad for people in rural America how bureaucrats and politicians micromanage and severely harm health care services for people by taking the "one size fits all" approach that government usually does.