4-23-2019
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — State Senator Maureen Walsh, who angered nurses by saying some may spend a lot of time playing cards in rural hospitals, says she wishes she could reel her comment back in.
“I certainly did not mean to imply that my nurses sit around playing cards all day . . . I have great respect for nurses, and my mother was a registered nurse for many years,” she says.
Walsh told KOMO Monday that her comment in reference to a bill requiring breaks for nurses were taken out of context and that she was concerned that new rules would be a hardship for small hospitals.
She also said she made the comment when she was tired from a long day, which Sarah Cherin with the nurses union says gets to the heart of the issue.
“She was tired, she made a mistake. We really get that and that’s what this bill is about,” says Cherin.