CODE RED: Safe Staffing Campaign Resources

• 2026 BILL: Wisconsin Nurse Staffing and Patient Protection Act
• Write your Wisconsin Legislators: Tell them to pass safe staffing legislation now
• WFNHP Safe Staffing Saves Lives - Fact Sheet 1
• WFNHP Safe Staffing Saves Lives - Fact Sheet 2
• AFT Code Red Safe Staffing Literature Review
• AFT Debunking Sources Used in Arguments Against Safe Staffing Legislation

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Wednesday, February 25, 2026

For more information, contact:
Jamie Lucas, (720)621-3689, jlucas@wfnhp.org

Nurses, Healthcare Workers Call “Code Red” on the Healthcare Staffing Crisis, Join with Legislators to Announce the Wisconsin Nurse Staffing and Patient Protection Act

Who: Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Sens. Larson and Ratcliff, Rep. Subeck

What: Press conference announcing a safe staffing bill to stabilize healthcare as a career and improve patient care

When: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 9:30 am

Where: Senate Parlor, State Capitol Building in Madison

This morning, healthcare workers and advocates will gather to announce the re-introduction of the Nurse Staffing and Patient Protection Act, a crucial piece of legislation that will require hospitals to provide adequate nursing and direct care staff for all patients at virtually all times by establishing enforceable minimum staffing ratios and banning the practice of mandatory overtime.

When the president of Colorado WINS learned that the president of the United States might be targeting Denver next in his anti-immigration campaign of terror, she knew how she’d begin to mobilize. One simple thing Diane Byrne does is deck out her activists in matching T-shirts. Wearing union colors promotes team spirit and builds confidence, she says. The AFT Public Employees program and policy council, meeting in New York City Feb. 5-6, abounded with tips to help locals mobilize. PPC chair Gary Feist, president of North Dakota Public Employees, recommended finding members who can tell a personal story to draw media attention. With more media on the issue, he said, legislators will become more motivated to fix the problem.

Federal immigration actions are rapidly expanding, with deadly consequences. The killings of poet Renee Nicole Good and nurse Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis have brought intense focus on the use of excessive force. An AFT webinar, co-hosted by AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang on Jan. 28, featured experts on immigration and the law. It highlighted AFT resources and showcased how our locals are showing up to minimize fear and trauma.

It is clear that higher education is under attack. The Trump administration has frozen funding for science, from cancer research to reproductive care; has hamstrung student financial aid programs; has stripped colleges and universities of diversity, equity and inclusion programming; has strangled affirmative action designed to expand access to college; and is demanding that some institutions sign a “compact” that forces them to adopt Trump’s ideology in exchange for federal funding.

Dr. Byrce Pulliam spends his nights in a community emergency room in Southern Oregon, where the line between life and death can come down to seconds—and insurance coverage.

“I show up 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year with one goal in mind: to provide excellent care for patients in crisis. Being a doctor is often challenging, but it has become harder because our nation’s healthcare system is on life support,” he said before a House hearing on Oct. 8.

Watch our interview with WTMJ4 News regarding the recent Ascension cyber security attack and our concerns over the disruption of care and services at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee, WI. WTMJ4 News Interview -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rh9PiVg42k

Here's a thread of other press stories about the effect of the cybersecurity hack and our members' collective efforts to keep caring for their patients:

PRESS RELEASE FOR:
Thursday, May 9, 2024

For more information, contact:
Jamie Lucas, (720)621-3689, jlucas@wfnhp.org

ASCENSION CYBER SECURITY ATTACK IMPACTING HEALTHCARE WORKERS AND PATIENT CARE

MILWAUKEE – Wednesday, May 8th, Ascension's electronic health record (EHR) was unexpectedly taken off-line. Union members of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals at Ascension St. Francis Hospital are concerned about their ability to provide the quality care that patients deserve, including concerns over delayed test results, access to doctors, and increased chance for medical errors. At the time of this press release, the system is not up and our members have been told there is "no end in sight."

The loss of our EHR has dramatically slowed down care and significantly reduced nurses' and other healthcare workers' ability to care for patients. Our members are concerned about management's response to this crisis, for reasons including: