MNA Blog (Page 68)

Recent news and updates from the Minnesota Nurses Association.

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Petition is here:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/949/229/314/support-nursing-student-in-the-pursuit-of-leadership-and-evolution-of-the-nursing-profession/

According to the landmark report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health Report; nurses, nursing education programs, and nursing associations should prepare the nursing workforce to assume leadership positions across all levels.

Through nurses’ involvement in professional organizations, nurses also can have an impact on maintaining momentum as well as on creating innovative ways of implementing the IOM recommendations. Just as nursing students have an impact through involvement with NSNA, as evidenced by the article entitled “Nursing students make the world a better place through policy development,” new nurses who have experienced shared governance through their participation in the NSNA are vested in decision making and understand how policy influences systems and impacts quality nursing care.
… Read more about: Please Sign the Minnesota Student Nurse Association Petition  »

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By Anna Rathbun, RN

We all made it safe and sound to Roxas city.  The airport missing part of its roof. We went to a more rural setting from there.  So far, we have seen over 1,200 patients.  We are paired with a team from Singapore with two doctors and four nurses.  Nurses with the National Nurses United RNRN program have been doing triage and procedures like wound debridgement and incision and drainage.   We have one nurse practitioner and I am one of five RNs.  People here have lots of respiratory problems because so many people here burn their trash every night.   There are constant fires, and most houses are built only a few meters from the roads. 
… Read more about: Duluth RN reports from the Philippines  »

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In: Hospitals, Nurses

Violence against nurses

It can range from swearing, spitting, or groping all the way to assault and even murder. It can happen in any setting: emergency department, mental health, labor and delivery, or day surgery. Nurses and other health care workers are at increased risk for violence in the workplace.  Nurses can’t choose their patients or their patients’ families.  Still, they often must interact with angry, frustrated, violent, or just agitated people.  We know nurses miss work four times more often due to injury caused by others.  Too often employers don’t provide adequate training and resources to help front line staff identify warning signs of violence and how to de-escalate those situations.
… Read more about: Preventing violence in health care settings  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association

   Tough contract negotiations were no match for the 64 gutsy nurses at First Light Health Services in Mora. A 25-bed critical access facility, the hospital is owned and operated by Kanabec County, and nurses routinely care for their neighbors, friends and families. The fight to keep good nurses at the bedside was very personal for the bargaining team.
   A proposal by hospital administration to reduce health insurance benefits flew in the face of reason for the whole bargaining team, especially in regard to patient satisfaction. “If nurses aren’t happy, patients won’t be happy,” said Bargaining Unit Chair Margie Odendahl, RN.
As negotiations went on, nurses grew more determined.
… Read more about: First Light Nurses Are a Beacon of Success  »

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Minnesota Nurse Heads to the Philippines to Aid Disaster Victims

As usual, Duluth registered nurse Anna Rathbun is spending her holidays caring for others, but this year she will be half a world away from her hometown, as she tends to victims of a hurricane-ravaged country. She is joining the third wave of nurses to be sent to the Philippines by the RN Response Network (RNRN), coordinated by National Nurses United. Rathbun is serving in Roxas City, on the Panay Island to provide medical support for those affected by the Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.
… Read more about: Press Release-Minnesota nurses heads to the Philippines to aid disaster victims  »

“They’ve lost everything,” Rathbun said, “and the place where I hope to go is one of the impoverished areas of the Philippines. 

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In: Bargaining, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

Nurses were prepared to walk out on job

Nurses working at Essentia Health – Virginia Medical Center agreed to a new three year contract on Tuesday after difficult negotiations resulted in nurses working for more than three months without a contract. Nurses voted overwhelmingly to pre-authorize a strike at the facility prior to the agreement to send the message that they expect Essentia to support nurses and patients.

“We are grateful to nurses for sticking together during a very difficult process,” said Glenn Anderson, RN and Co-Chair of the bargaining unit, “and their support showed Essentia that we expect the employer to honor their promise of creating a a working environment that would attract and retain nurses and protect the quality care patients deserve.” In 2011, Essentia management asked for nurses’ support when it began the affiliation process of Virginia Regional Medical Center, and nurses obliged under the promise that a new ownership structure would improve patient care.
… Read more about: Nurses Agree on New Contract with Virginia Hospital  »

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In: Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses



Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

Budget surplus shows Minnesota in the right hands

Minnesota nurses say a strong state can take better care of its citizens

 
Rick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

 
… Read more about: Press Release: Budget surplus shows Minnesota in the right hands  »

(St Paul) – The latest revenue forecast shows Governor Mark Dayton and the legislature have built a strong foundation for Minnesota moving forward.  Minnesota’s Management and Budget office shows $1 billion surplus, which will be used to repay Minnesota’s schools after years of borrowing.”It’s great news and proof we put the state in the right hands,” said Linda Hamilton, RN, BSN, President of the Minnesota Nurses Association. 

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

After another session in an eight-month long contract negotiation process ended without an agreement, nurses bargaining with the Allina system are calling for the health care corporation to put the community first. “We are deeply concerned that Allina wants to treat workers in Hastings differently than they do in other parts of the state, and that tactic will affect the care we are able to deliver to our neighbors and friends,” said MNA negotiator Jane Traynor, RN.

MNA nurses from all over the Allina corporate system arrived in Hastings early Tuesday morning to help their new colleagues deliver a message of solidarity on behalf of their patients to hospital administrators at Regina Medical Center.
… Read more about: Hastings Nurses Tell Allina: “Care for Our Community”  »

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In: Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

Minnesota State Capitol St Paul MinnesotaOn Wed., Nov. 13, Minnesota legislators convened a joint committee on Health and Human Services to review process of the Minnesota Board of Nursing regarding licensure and discipline of nursing professionals.  MNA submitted written testimony reflecting the organization’s position on the issue.

Senator Kathy Sheran
Representative Tina Liebling
75 Rev Martin Luther King Blvd
St. Paul, MN  55115

Written statement to the Joint Committee on Health and Human Services

November 12, 2013

The Minnesota Nurses Association respects the purpose of this Joint Committee hearing to review licensing and disciplinary processes of Minnesota’s Board of Nursing.
… Read more about: MNA Statement on State Licensure Process Review  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Organizing

Aitkin-nursesAn energized group of nurses confronted their boss on Tuesday at Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin, spurred by their determination to achieve a fair union contract. “This agreement helps us protect our patients,” said Bargaining Unit Co-Chair Lynda Smith, RN. “My colleagues will use every tool available to us to advocate for our patients. With a legal contract behind us, we stand up for each other and ourselves to demand what is right for the safety of our patients.”

The 48 registered nurses represented by MNA have been negotiating their contract since mid-August and another bargaining session scheduled for Nov.
… Read more about: Aitkin Nurses Demand a Fair Contract  »