Call for Action: Baker Act Bill Idle

Dear Colleagues, 

Although HB9 to allow NPs and PAs to sign certificates of involuntary examination under the Baker Act passed unanimously all the way through the house, the companion bill SB 110 has not yet been placed on the agenda in the Children, Families, and Elder Affairs committee in the Senate.

Time is running out! Your help is needed to educate Senator Eleanor Sobel, chair of the Children, Families, and Elder Affairs committee, on how important this is for patient access and care and ask her to place it on the committee agenda. It is especially important for those in the senator's district to react to this call for help. Constituents have a greater impact than non-constituents.

We are encouraging you to email, call and fax Senator Sobel’s office. You may use the suggested letter below or tell her of your own experiences and frustrations regarding this barrier for patients. Our patients need care and we need to advocate for them. Indicate on the letter if you are one of her constituents.

2600 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, FL 33020
(954) 924-3693
FAX (954) 924-3695

410 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5033
sobel.eleanor.web@flsenate.gov

Thank you for your help!

Doreen Cassarino, MSN, FNP-BC, BC-ADM, DNPc
doreencassarino@gmail.com
Florida Nurse Practitioner Network President 

Dear Senator Sobel,

I am writing today to ask you to agenda Senate Bill 110. As you know, this bill will help suicidal and homicidal patients access immediate emergency care through their nurse practitioner or physician assistant. SB 110 will allow nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) to sign a certificate of involuntary examination under the Baker Act.

As we try to contain costs, streamline care and make our health care system more efficient, it is important that all members of the primary health care team be able to provide emergency treatment for patients. Adding NPs and PAs to the Baker Act statute will reduce the redundancy of having to get a law enforcement officer involved in signing these certificates. This saves resources, streamlines care, improves quicker access to emergency psychiatric care, and ultimately benefits the patient. This bill is especially urgently needed in Florida’s rural communities and those communities that do not have enough primary care physicians.

Please agenda SB 110 and help us help the most vulnerable patients in our state

Thank You,