KMHS Medical Services Manager Donna Poole, ARNP looks on as Governor Christine Gregoire signs two bills increasing the scope of nurse practitioners’ practice at end of the 2008 legislative session. Senate Bill 6267 allows Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNPs) to have full prescriptive authority in Washington State with no exceptions, which increases the scope of their practice and patients’ access to care by nurse practitioners. The second bill, SB6739, grants authority to psychiatric ARNP’s to specifically and directly manage the care of patients who are involuntarily detained in hospitals and mental health treatment centers. This bill will allow evaluation and treatment centers such as KMHS’ Adult Inpatient Unit to use psychiatric Nurse Practitioners when legally mandated evaluations and documents are required. Donna has been a tireless advocate for mental health services improvements and an active member of the Association of Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses, among one of the organizations who are to be credited for moving this legislation forward.