Eleven female state representatives from the Chicago area and beyond arrived by bus at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove to field questions from local nurses Tuesday morning.

“We believe it is important to do things differently, to move beyond the usual audiences when talking about the future of our communities and state,” said Rep. Renee Kosel, R-81st District, of New Lenox. “This tour is intended to reach out to women wherever they are, to hear what is on their minds, and to talk about how they can become more involved in leadership at all levels in their communities and government.”

Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-24th District, of Hinsdale, also sat on the panel that answered questions from the Advocate Nurse Advocacy Council, which represents about 7,000 nurses statewide.

Kandice Vancura, chairwoman of the NAC, said legislation mandating nurse-patient ratios is the most pressing issue to the council. House Bill 2548, which would have specified a set number of patients per nurse, did not make it out of a House committee in March. Vancura said the NAC will continue to fight it if it is reintroduced.

“Staffing is based on so much more than numbers,” she said.

When Vancura asked the panel of legislators about their position on nurse-patient ratios, the panel responded with a unanimous “oppose.”

“Acuity is the answer,” said Rep. JoAnn Osmond, R-61st District, of Antioch.

Nursing acuity is a formula used to determine how many patients a nurse can handle based on the degree of their ailment, and it is also the favored method of the NAC, according to Vancura.

The resounding message of the panel to the nurses and hospital staff in the audience was to make their voices heard on issues by contacting the legislators.

Dillard related an anecdote whereby he switched his position on stem cell research after a phone call from a Downers Grove pediatrician.

The visit to Good Samaritan was one stop among many for the female representatives. Their three-day bus tour marked the kick-off of Women’s Voices Illinois, an initiative launched to engage women throughout the state.

The group made 10 stops and met with women’s studies students at a high school, a DuPage County mother’s group at the College of DuPage, women business leaders in Elgin, and the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce women’s group, among others.

State Rep. Patricia “Patti” Bellock, R-47th District, of Hinsdale, said “the exchange has been phenomenal” with the women they have met throughout the state.

“These are the people in the trenches of what they do,” she said.