Evers vetoes nursing aide training hours bill

Site staff by Site Contributor

Shutterstock via CNN

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed a Republican bill that would have made it easier to become a nurse’s aide in Wisconsin.

State law currently requires nursing aide training programs to be at least 120 hours long. Federal regulations call for a minimum of 75 hours. The bill would have prohibited state health officials from requiring nurses’ aides obtain more than 75 hours of training.

Evers vetoed the bill Wednesday, saying in his veto message that he objects to less training for those who care for Wisconsin’s more vulnerable citizens. He says there’s better ways to address the shortage of nursing aides than reducing the quality of training.

The bill’s authors, Sen. Rob Cowles and Rep. Warren Petryk, called the measure a reasonable attempt to create more nursing aides. Petryk said Evers is disregarding people who need health care.

Editor’s note: In a previous version of the story, The Associated Press reported that the bill would have reduced the number of training hours that nurses would have to complete. The story has been updated to reflect that it would have reduced the number of training hours that nursing aides would have to complete.

COPYRIGHT 2020 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.