MNA Blog

Recent news and updates from the Minnesota Nurses Association.

On:
In: Allina, Corporate Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, layoffs, Mayo, Press Releases, Unions

(St. Paul, MN) – November 7, 2025 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association are outraged and frustrated by Allina Health’s decision to permanently close the Faribault Birth Center on December 1, 2025. This abrupt move will deprive patients and families across Southern Minnesota of critical, local access to maternity care. Allina’s decision to close the birth center in Faribault so it can open a new one at Owatonna Hospital is yet again another example of corporate health systems putting profits and consolidation over patients.

The closure, announced with no community engagement or notice, will force expectant parents to travel further for essential services and place an unnecessary, and potentially dangerous, burden on families, while undermining equitable access to care in the facility.
… Read more about: Nurses Condemn Allina Health’s Decision to close Faribault Birth Center   »

On:
In: Essentia, Home, Hospitals, Press Releases, Unions, Workplace violence prevention

(Brainerd, MN) – October 28, 2025 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) are once again outraged and deeply concerned after two more violent assaults on nurses at Essentia Health. A nurse at Essentia Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd was attacked by a patient last Thursday, followed by another assault at the same facility over the weekend.

The latest incidents come less than two weeks after two nurses were injured at Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. Four nurses assaulted in under two weeks reflects a dangerous pattern in Essentia facilities—one that nurses have been warning about for years.
… Read more about: Four nurses in Two Weeks Assaulted at Essentia Hospitals: Nurses Say Violence is a Consequence of Unsafe Staffing and Inaction  »

On:
In: Duluth, Essentia, Home, Hospitals, Nurse Staffing, Nurses, Press Releases, Unsafe Staffing, Workplace violence prevention

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Diamond Palmer
612-741-0662
communications@mnnurses.org

(Duluth, MN) – October 16, 2025 – The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) is outraged and deeply saddened to learn that two nurses were assaulted by a patient at Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center. Both nurses required treatment in the Emergency Department following the attack, and the patient was subsequently taken into custody.

This incident is not an isolated event—it is the tragic result of years of inaction and conditions that put staff and patients at risk at Essentia. Nurses and healthcare workers have repeatedly raised alarms about unsafe staffing levels and the growing threat of workplace violence.
… Read more about: Nurses Condemn Assault of Two Nurses at Essentia St. Mary’s Medical Center  »

On:
In: Advanced Practice Providers, Duluth, Essentia

My name is Jenna, and I am a Hospitalist at Essentia Health in Duluth.

I first experienced Duluth as a 20-year-old college student visiting with my mom to run the Garry Bjorklund half marathon. I thought it was a beautiful and intriguing place. At that time I was in school in Madison, WI and still figuring out my path in life. A few years later I was a physician assistant (PA) student at Duke in Durham, NC. I had pivotal student rotation experiences—I took care of all ages, I saw discrepancies in care and facilities on different sides of town and the state, I saw life born and touched the hands of life passing away.
… Read more about: They live here, too: The providers who keep northeast Minnesota healthy  »

On:
In: Allina, Corporate Healthcare, Home, layoffs, Nurses, Press Releases, Unions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shannon Cunningham
(c) 651-269-1418
Shannon.Cunningham@mnnurses.org

Erin Moriarty
(c) 651-202-0845
Erin.Moriarty@mnnurses.org

(Fridley, MN) – Sept 24, 2025 – Allina Health’s plan to shut down the inpatient chemical dependency unit at Mercy Hospital–Unity Campus in February 2026 has sparked outrage from nurses, patients, and community advocates, who warn the closure will devastate access to lifesaving addiction care in the north metro.

“Closing this unit and scattering patients elsewhere in the hospital will be disastrous,” said Laurie Brodersen, RN. “This is a locked unit with experienced nurses who know how to care for this vulnerable population and prevent relapse.
… Read more about: Unity Inpatient Chemical Dependency Unit closure threatens patient safety, say nurses  »

On:
In: Advanced Practice Providers, Duluth, Duluth Bargaining, Essentia, Healthcare, Home, Labor Unions, Press Releases, Unions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shannon Cunningham
(c) 651-269-1418
Shannon.Cunningham@mnnurses.org

Erin Moriarty
(c) 651-202-0845
Erin.Moriarty@mnnurses.org

More than 400 APPs highlight their vital role in healthcare and call for leadership to respect and support their contributions.

(Duluth, MN) – Sept 22, 2025 – This National Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Week, more than 400 APPs in Essentia Health’s East Market are celebrating their essential role in healthcare while demanding that Essentia’s leadership finally recognize their contributions. Nearly half of all patients in the Essentia system are cared for by an APP, making them the backbone of care in northern Minnesota.
… Read more about: APPs Celebrate National APP Week, Caring for Nearly Half of Essentia Patients  »

On:
In: Elections, Home, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shannon Cunningham
(c) 651-269-1418
Shannon.Cunningham@mnnurses.org

Erin Moriarty
(c) 651-202-0845
Erin.Moriarty@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul, MN) – September 19, 2025 – Nurses of the Minnesota Nurses Association today announced their endorsement of Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger for Senate District 47.

Endorsed candidates are recognized for their leadership and collaboration with nurses to address critical issues affecting both nurses and patients. To earn nurses’ endorsement, candidates must show dedication to MNA priorities, including resolving the nurse retention and patient care crisis, opposing the growing corporatization and consolidation in healthcare, and advocating for workers’ rights to a collective voice that upholds dignity and respect in the workplace.
… Read more about: Nurses announce endorsement for Minnesota State Senate District 47  »

On:
In: Elections, Home, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shannon Cunningham
651-269-1418
Shannon.Cunningham@mnnurses.org

Erin Moriarty
651-202-0845
Erin.Moriarty@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul, MN) – August 21, 2025 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association today announced the endorsement of two candidates who have demonstrated leadership in supporting safe hospital staffing levels, worker rights, and patient care. These candidates are recognized for their commitment to solving issues that impact both nurses and patients.

To be endorsed by nurses, candidates must demonstrate commitment to MNA priorities, including ensuring safe staffing, addressing nurse retention, holding hospital executives accountable, standing up to the corporatization of healthcare, advocating for lower healthcare costs and supporting the rights of all workers seeking dignity and respect in the workplace.
… Read more about: Nurses endorse St. Paul Mayoral and Minnesota State House candidates who stand with patients and nurses  »

On:
In: Duluth, Essentia, Home, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shannon Cunningham

651-269-1418

shannon.cunningham@mnnurses.org

 

(Duluth, MN) – August 20, 2025 – The following is a statement released by Minnesota Nurses Association President Chris Rubesch, RN: 

Nurses and healthcare workers at Essentia Health deserve a safe workplace where they can care for patients without fear of intimidation or retaliation. During MNA’s strike in July, clinic nurses and APPs on the picket line received threats from their direct supervisor at Essentia’s Superior and 3rd Street Urgent Care Clinics. He threatened to run them over with his car and shoot them with a paintball gun while they exercised their legal right to strike.
… Read more about: Statement from MNA President on Essentia supervisor’s threats to workers  »

On:
In: Advanced Practice Providers, Bargaining, Duluth, Duluth Bargaining, Essentia, Healthcare, Home, Nurses, Nurses Strike, Nursing, Press Releases, ULP Strike, Unions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Contact: Shannon Cunningham
651-269-1418
Shannon.Cunningham@mnnurses.org 

 

Duluth, MN – July 25, 2025 – On Tuesday, clinic nurses, surgery center nurses, healthcare workers at Solvay Hospice House, and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) concluded a powerful strike across Essentia Health facilities that involved nearly 700 frontline workers. The two-week strike by nurses and healthcare workers and 13-day strike by APPs brought statewide attention to Essentia’s unfair labor practices, including unlawful intimidation, surveillance, and clear attempts to bust the union. 

Yet, even after the strike’s end, Essentia is continuing to keep on travel nurses, when former striking healthcare workers are available and want to return to work. 
… Read more about: Negotiations move forward as Essentia delays return of striking workers  »