Texas ENA Government Affairs Committee

Council-Chapter Government Affairs Award

Recognizes an ENA Council or Chapter for outstanding efforts to increase member involvement in government affairs and advance public policy supporting nursing, safety, health care and injury prevention issues. 

In 2023, the state of Texas passed SB240 to address workplace violence in health care. In response to this legislation, Texas ENA collaborated with the Texas Nurses Association to host a multi-disciplinary WPV summit that provided an overview of the new law with expert panel presentations and breakout discussions. The three panels covered nurses’ experience with WPV,
the role of law enforcement and district attorneys in navigating the legal system, and the impact of WPV on the health care community, as well as the responsibility of health care organizations to prevent it.

Attendees included members of law enforcement agencies, hospital and medical associations, the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, and the Nursing Legislative Agenda Coalition. As the bill author, Texas Rep. Donna Howard, RN, also attended.

In future off-legislative years, Texas ENA and the NLAC anticipate providing similar educational events focused on legislative priorities from the previous legislative session.