‘Katie’s bill’ signed into law

LANSING – Family and friends of Katie Viger gathered in Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s ceremonial office in the Capitol on Thursday to watch her sign Senate Bill 1172 into law that will be known as "Katie’s Law.”

State Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, sponsored the bill that will allow the Department of Community Health (DCH to issue honorary nursing licenses to those with advanced illnesses. The story of Katie Viger caught the imagination of the nation. She graduated from the competitive nursing program at Henry Ford Community College in May of last year, but in August she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, just days before she was to take her exam to receive her nursing license. Her lifelong dream was to have her license. She received it just a few days before she passed away when it became clear the bill would have no problem passing.

“This was a rare opportunity to truly grant the wish of a citizen and it was a great honor to acknowledge her hard work and present Ms. Viger with the license,” Basham said. “I’d like to thank the Department of Community Health, Senator Patterson and the countless others involved for helping make this happen.”

Katie’s first nursing instructor, Cathy Wakefield, initiated the grassroots campaign to help her receive her license, including starting a Facebook group and encouraging people to contact their legislators. When Wakefield contacted Basham about Katie’s hope to receive her license, he got involved and worked with the DCH to expedite the process. He also introduced legislation to help address similar situations in the future.

Those joining Basham for the bill signing included Katie’s parents, Joe and Cathy Viger, her brother Mark and his fiancée Kathryn Triebel, and her grandparents, Thomas and Mildred Viger and Catherine Burke; Wakefield, DCH Director Janet Olszewski and Melanie Brim and Brenda Lawson from the Department of Community Health; Joyce Young, Henry Ford Health Systems’ Chief Nurse Executive; Rep. Ed Clemente, D-Lincoln Park, and Rep. Andrew Kandrevas, D-Southgate.

‘Katie’s Bill’ clears major hurdle

LANSING -- Senate Bill 1172 – known as “Katie’s Bill” – passed the last hurdle to becoming law when the House unanimously passed the bill with 107 votes Wednesday and sent on to the Governor for her signature.

The bill will allow the Department of Community Health (DCH) to issue an honorary nursing license, in consultation with the nursing board, to an individual who has met all of the requirements of being licensed but who is unable to take the examination due to advanced illness. The bill is named for 23-year-old Katie Viger of Trenton who passed away on Feb. 18 from an aggressive form of brain cancer.
She graduated from the competitive nursing program at Henry Ford Community College in May of last year, but in August she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, just days before she was to take her exam to receive her nursing license. Her lifelong dream was to have her license. She received it just a few days before she passed away when it became clear the bill would have no problem passing.

Urged on by her instructor Cathy Wakefield, Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, introduced the bill, and it received widespread, grassroots support thanks to the actions of Katie’s friends, family and many supporters. The bill was passed unanimously out of the House Health Policy Committee on Tuesday, and it was passed by the full House today.

‘Katie’s’ Bill passes the Senate

LANSING -- Senate Bill 1172 that will allow the Department of Community Health (DCH) to issue an honorary nursing license, in consultation with the nursing board, to an individual who has met all of the requirements of being licensed but who is unable to take the examination due to advanced illness was approved unanimously by the Senate on Wednesday.

The bill is named for 23-year-old Katie Viger of Trenton who passed away a few weeks ago on Feb. 18. Katie Viger graduated from the competitive nursing program at Henry Ford Community College in May of last year, but in August she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, just days before she was to take her exam to receive her nursing license. Her lifelong dream was to have her license.

Urged on by her instructor Cathy Wakefield, Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, introduced the bill, and it received widespread, grasroots support thanks to the actions of Katie’s friends, family and supporters. The bill was fast-tracked, and 33 of the 38 Senators co-sponsored the bill. Wakefield was on hand to see the bill pass the Senate on Wednesday.

“But we would not be voting on this legislation today and Katie would never had received her honorary license if it weren’t for the involvement of several key individuals,” Basham said. “I would, therefore, like to publicly thank Cathy Wakefield, Director Janet Olszewski, the Department of Community Health staff, Senator Mike Bishop, Senator Bruce Patterson and Senator Tom George.”

The bill was referred to the House Health Policy Committee, but it’s expected it will make its way quickly to the full House floor.

Bill to enact ‘Katie Viger's law’ introduced today

The bill that allowed the Department of Community Health (DCH) to issue an honorary nursing degree to 23-year-old Katie Viger of Trenton just as few days before she passed away last week was formally introduced in the Senate today.

Senate Bill 1172 was introduced by Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, and it has strong bi-partisan support with 33 of the 38 Senators co-sponsoring the bill. The bill will allow the DCH department, in consultation with the nursing board, to issue an honorary license to an individual, living or deceased, who has met all of the requirements of being licensed but who is unable to take the examination due to advanced illness. When signed into law by the Governor, it will be known as “Katie Viger's law.”

It appears the bill will go directly to the Senate floor instead of going to a committee for a hearing, but it has to lay over five days under the Senate rules before it can be taken up.

Katie Viger graduated from the competitive nursing program at Henry Ford Community College in May of last year, but in August she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, just days before she was to take her exam to receive her nursing license. She passed away on Feb. 18. The DCH agreed to issue the honorary license on Feb. 13 because it had such bipartisan support and certain to become law.

Young woman’s story that touched people's hearts passes away

In a story that touched the hart of people all over Michigan and the nation, 23-year-old Katie Viger of Trenton passed away in her home on Thursday less than a week after she received her honorary nursing degree, her lifelong dream.

She graduated from the competitive nursing program Henry Ford Community College in May of last year, but in August she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, just days before she was to take her exam to receive her nursing license. Friends and supporters pushed for the Department of Community Health to grant Katie her honorary nursing license, and it quickly gained steam with a Facebook group of more than 5,000 people.

The problem was the DCH had no authority to issue such a license. After being contacted by family and friends, Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, sponsored legislation to allow the DCH to issue a license when a person has completed all the required course work but is not able to take the exam because of serious illness or event. It will be called “Katie’s Law.”

DCH issued the license because the legislation is pending but has bipartisan support, and Basham presented the license to her family on Friday, Feb. 12. The bill will be introduced Tuesday, and it is expected to be taken up quickly.

Grassroots support for ‘Katie’s law” is growing

Sometimes the wheels of government move slowly, but a lot of people in Michigan are urging them to move faster for 23-year-old Katie Viger of Trenton.

The recent graduate of the Henry Ford Community College nursing program is in hospice care suffering from an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, but her biggest regret is not receiving her nursing degree. Her many supporters have been calling, writing and emailing the Michigan Legislature to make that happen.

She graduated from the competitive nursing program that has a three-year waiting list in May of last year, but in August she was diagnosed with cancer, just days before she was to take her exam to receive her nursing license.

Cathy Wakefield, her instructor at Henry Ford Community College, has stood by Katie during the ordeal, even helping organizing a fundraiser to help with paying for the mostly experimental treatment. As Katie’s condition worsened, Wakefield sprang into action to help her accomplish her lifelong dream, becoming a licensed nurse. What she found out was that the Michigan Department of Community Health does not have the statutory authority to issue an honorary nursing license.

Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, is sponsoring legislation to allow the DCH to do so when a person has completed all the required course work but is not able to take the exam because of serious illness or event. It will be called “Katie’s Law.”

A Facebook group has been formed to gather support for the effort, and in the short amount of time it has been up it has gained more than 3,182 members, with the help of a couple of newspaper articles.

The problem now is getting it through the Legislature. A priority bill request has been submitted to the Legislative Service Bureau (LSB), the nonpartisan legislative agency charged with putting a plain language bill request into legal language. Once the bill is introduced, it can go directly to the Senate floor if no committee hearings are required, and in the Senate that is a common occurrence, but not a general rule in the larger House.

The bill must be approved in both the Senate and the House and signed by the Governor before it becomes law. However, the Facebook group is urging people to ask their Senator or Representative to co-sponsor the bill and do what ever they can to expedite the process, and that appears to be happening.