Massachusetts Nurses Association Endorses Barbara L'Italien in Third Congressional District Race

ANDOVER, Mass., Jan. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the largest union and professional association of registered nurses and health professionals in the state, has endorsed Democrat Barbara L'Italien in her campaign for Congress, making it the first major union to endorse any candidate in the race to succeed Niki Tsongas.

The MNA, representing 23,000 members, supports L'Italien because of her record of fighting for nurses and patients while in the state legislature and her commitment to fight for working families in Congress. L'Italien is seeking the Democratic nomination in the Third Congressional District.

"The Massachusetts Nurses Association is proud to endorse State Senator Barbara L'Italien for Congress," said MNA President Donna Kelly-Williams. "Barbara has always been a strong supporter of safe patient care and frontline nurses in Massachusetts.  She advocates for the issues most important to both nurses and patients, including safe RN-to-patient staffing limits, safer working conditions for nurses and access to affordable, quality healthcare."

Previously, L'Italien received the Massachusetts Nurses Association endorsement in each of her eight campaigns for the state legislature and has received the organization's Legislative Advocacy award twice, most recently in 2017 for her work to protect beds at Tewksbury State Hospital.

"We know from experience that Senator L'Italien is not someone to shy away from fighting for what is right and what is best for the people she represents ? and that is exactly what we need in Congress right now," Kelly-Williams said.

"I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Massachusetts Nurses Association in my campaign for Congress," said L'Italien. "Together we have worked to increase healthcare access and improve quality of life for patients and nurses alike. With their help, I'm ready to take that leadership to the federal level and fight for our shared priorities including better wages and working conditions, and a single-payer healthcare system."

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association