NNOC Houston Nurses Announce "Houston Kids: Sign Up, Check Up," Major Enrollment Drive For Kids' Healthcare

Scores of members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee Houston will gather Thursday to announce a new drive, "Houston Kids: Sign Up, Check Up," together with the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and State Rep. Garnet Coleman, to ensure that every eligible Houston child is signed up for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)-and gets a check-up from a healthcare provider.


The nurses plan to speak with patient families, to hold several events throughout the city, to reach out to an array of community, educational and religious organizations, and to work closely with the CDF to ensure full participation in CHIP, which serves children whose families make too much money for Medicaid but not enough to buy expensive, private insurance. NNOC Houston is the local branch of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, a national movement for nurses committed to patient care advocacy, with 75,000 nurse members in every state in the country, including thousands in Texas.


"Right here in Houston, in 2007, kids are dying, and developing serious medical conditions that will plague them into adulthood, simply because we cannot find the political will to guarantee them healthcare," said Linda Record, an RN from Houston. "We call on every member of the community to make sure all of our kids are signed up and checked up. Please join our campaign."


Shelitrice Walton, also a Houston RN, added, "Everybody is hurt by our healthcare crisis. Ultimately, we need to rebuild the system from the ground up, so we guarantee care to all our patients and make our healthcare system competitive with those in every other industrialized democracy. But first, we need to care for the most vulnerable among us, the children who have been dumped out of the system."


1.4 million children in Texas, over 20% of the population, have no health insurance, leaving them vulnerable to a wide range of health problems, many of which can extend into adulthood. Thanks to the tireless advocacy of CDF, the state has decided to make funding available for 127,000 of these-if they can be enrolled. The NNOC Houston nurses will work to ensure that every spot available for Houston-area children is signed up, and will advocate for Gov. Perry to fully fund the program and leave no child without access to healthcare; in 2003 Perry and the legislature cut 250,000 children off the rolls.


About NNOC


The National Nurses Organizing Committee, founded by the California Nurses Association, is a national movement for registered nurses, advance practice nurses, and RN organizations throughout the country who want to pursue a more powerful agenda of patient advocacy that promotes the interests of patients, direct-care nurses, and RN professional practice. Hundreds of Texas RNs have signed up to join NNOC since its founding, among over 75,000 members in all 50 states.



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