MNA Blog (Page 67)

Recent news and updates from the Minnesota Nurses Association.

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In: Minnesota Nurses Association, Patient Safety

CSS formLast year at the State Capitol, legislators were impressed when the Minnesota Nurses Association turned over boxes of Concern for Safe Staffing Forms at committee hearings.

The forms helped make the case that patients are at risk and nurses are advocating for better staffing to improve quality care.

Now the form has been improved to allow for database search and data analysis.  We will now be able to tell lawmakers and patients how many incidents of unsafe staffing occurred at facilities; how many times nurses felt their patients were at risk; how many times management ignored or simply dismissed requests by nurses to bring in more staff because they were caring for too many patients at one time.
… Read more about: New Concern for Safe Staffing Form  »

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In: Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Nurses, Politics

MNA Legislative Update April 5, 2014Minnesota State Capitol St Paul Minnesota

Minimum Wage

Legislative leaders are still in discussions about raising the minimum wage (HF92). Both the House and Senate agree on raising the wage to $9.50, but only the House currently supports including an annual inflationary increase in the legislation, called indexing, that allows minimum wage workers to keep up with the rising costs of food, housing, and transportation. Last week the Senate introduced a bill that would have asked the voters to decide on the minimum wage and inflationary increases, but this week the author, Sen. Ann Rest, withdrew the bill.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update April 5, 2014  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Minimum Wage, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Politics

2014 student day on the hillOn Thursday, April 3, for the seventh consecutive year, the Minnesota Nurses Association hosted students from nursing schools throughout the state for a lesson in advocacy that takes them beyond their bedside responsibilities.

350 students and instructors, representing 14 different schools of nursing attended the day-long event that kicked off with a morning meet & greet with MNA members leaders.  A comprehensive orientation followed, providing students insights about policy issues facing legislators in which nurses have a keen interest, including Nurse Licensing, Monitoring and Discipline; Minimum Wage; Mandatory Flu Vaccine; Department of Health Study of Staffing and Patient Outcomes; and Health Care for All.
… Read more about: Nursing Students Connect Practice and Policy  »

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In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Nurses, Patient Safety, Politics

Minnesota legislators introduced a bill (HF2415/SF2212)to require mandatory flu vaccination for all health care workers. At MNA’s Nurses Day on the Hill on March 11, nurses raised these issues with their respective representatives and senators, including the bills’ sponsors, and brought forward enough concerns that the authors and legislative leaders agreed that the bill should not move forward this year. It is very unusual for a bill’s author to change their mind about an issue after a bill has been introduced, and, to our knowledge, this is the first MNA issue to be withdrawn in recent memory.

 

While MNA considers vaccinations one important public health tool and encourages nurses to consider vaccination as a means of protecting themselves and their patients, we oppose attempts to legally mandate vaccines.
… Read more about: The Power of Nurses at Day on the Hill: Legislators drop mandatory flu vaccine bill  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Politics

Minnesota State Capitol St Paul Minnesota Nurse Licensing, Monitoring and Discipline
The bills proposing changes to the Health Professionals Services Program (HPSP) and how the Board of Nursing handles nurses with substance use disorders and drug diversion are moving through the legislative process. Our priorities remain reflected in the bills – protecting patient safety, treating substance use disorder as a disease, encouraging nurses with substance use disorders to seek rehabilitation treatment, and protecting nurses’ private medical and legal information.

Minimum Wage
The conference committee working on a bill to increase the minimum wage is still hung up on the issue of an automatic inflationary increase for low-wage workers (“indexing”).
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update March 28, 2014  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Patient Safety

take-back-mcmc The employees of Murray County Medical Center (MCMC) in Slayton, MN often refer to themselves in the collective as “family.” They are neighbors and friends who care for neighbors and friends in the most of vulnerable times.    In recent years, however, circumstances for patients on some of the hospital’s shifts at the county-owned hospital became so alarming that many of those family members have left the facility. Nurses, physicians, physician assistants and others have either resigned or were forced out – some amidst the disruption of legal wrangling.

Several months ago, nurses who are also MNA Stewards surveyed their co-workers and the results pointed to the hostile environment, fears about inadequate staffing and the fact it is impossible for nurses to be two places at once due to the distance between patient care units.
… Read more about: Slayton Nurses Show Courage Beyond the Bedside  »

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In: Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Patient Safety, Politics

Minnesota State Capitol St Paul MinnesotaMNA Legislative Update

March 21, 2014

 

Nurse Licensure/Discipline

SF 1890/HF 1898:  Nurse Licensing and Discipline Bill

Nurse Licensing and Monitoring bills are moving forward in both the House and Senate after hearings this week to try to address objections of stakeholders. In the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, the bill was amended to require the Board of Nursing to follow the same standards as other health licensing boards related to felony level criminal sexual offenses and remove a provision that would exempt the Board of Nursing from considering whether a nurse was rehabilitated when granting or renewing their license. 
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update March 21, 2014  »

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In: Bargaining, Hospitals

All Allina nurses are united in their support for fellow nurses at Regina Medical Center and want them to get a fair contract. Hastings nurses are first-rate and they deserve a contract that respects their experience and ensures patient safety and the continuity of care. Allina nurses from Buffalo and Thief River Falls joined nurses from United and RMC in an informational picket in St Paul.
… Read more about: Video: Allina Nurses Picket United for a Hastings Contract  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing

Nurses from Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar, Minnesota, showed up in full force with their families to report to the City Council the community needs first-rate nurses and first-rate patient care.

Carolyn Jorgenson, RN, MNA Board member told council members who are the trustees for the hospital that the facility’s management team has set a poor tone with nurses.  She told a sea of MNA red in the audience that the employer has delivered an underlying message of disrespect for the value of nursing for the community.

Here are excerpts of the comments offered by Jorgenson at last night’s City Council meeting:

“I absolutely LOVE and live nursing. 
… Read more about: Willmar Nurses Go to City Hall  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Politics

MNA-with-Sen.-BakkNurses Day on the Hill 2014

Nurses had a great and productive day on March 11 visiting the Capitol and their respective representatives and senators.  Hundreds of nurses came out to educate lawmakers and without a specific bill to push in this short session, representatives and senators were happy just to have an education where they could learn about healthcare policy and the practice of nursing.  Nurses brought many issues to lawmakers’ attention for the first time, which they said they appreciated.  See below.

Health Care Professionals and Monitoring

There are now two bills moving through the Minnesota legislature.  SF 1890 passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week and is now headed for a committee hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee next Tuesday at noon. 
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, March 14, 2014  »