GOP points to Kulongoski on Nursing Board Flop

Press release from House GOP 9-5-07:

BOARD OF NURSING:
ACCOUNTABILITY MUST START AT THE TOP
Problems at Nursing Board Known for Years

SALEM””House Republicans today applauded recent changes at the Oregon Board of Nursing, but said the Kulongoski Administration has been too slow to assure public safety and fix the agency. Problems within the board have been known for years, yet Republican demands for accountability and reform have been ignored.

“The present house-cleaning in Oregon’s Nursing Board leadership should have occurred in 2005, when financial misrepresentations were discovered by our Ways and Means Sub-committee,” said Rep. Dennis Richardson (R-Central Point), who chaired the Joint Ways and Means Human Services Subcommittee in 2005. “Bipartisan work to lift the ethical bar in government requires transparency and cooperation. In this case, we’ve had neither.”

House Republicans said a shake-up of top administrative staff is not enough to correct problems at the board. They said the board must implement every recommendation suggested in the DAS report, and must report their progress to the House Health Care Committee over the coming months.

“It is clear that the Oregon State Board of Nursing is in chaos and that the public’s trust in government to protect its citizens is shaken to the core,” said Rep. Ron Maurer (R-Grants Pass), a member of the House Health Care Committee. “House Republicans urge the Governor to move quickly to review the composition of the eight member state board on nursing and to make necessary changes to begin the repair of this fractured agency and to regain public trust.”

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