MNA Blog (Page 74)

Recent news and updates from the Minnesota Nurses Association.

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In: Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Organizing

By Linda HamiltonLinda-Hamilton_1

Nurses share a common theme:  they are totally committed to their co-workers, the communities they serve and to delivering safe patient care.  That’s what NNU Co-President Jean Ross, Board Director Mary Turner, and I saw in Ely, Virginia, International Falls, and Hibbing.

What a great road trip we had as nurses shared with us their stories of the joys and struggles of working in some of our Greater Minnesota hospitals.  Some of them bravely work in critical access hospitals such as, International Falls and Ely, and some are dedicated care-givers in larger facilities, such as Hibbing and Virginia.
… Read more about: Greater Minnesota nurses are committed to care  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

MNA at the 2013 Staff Nurse Assembly   Minnesota nurses made up one of the biggest collections of delegates at the annual National Nurses United conference in San Francisco.

Global Nurses United of Nurse, Healthcare Unions, Born   Leaders of the premiere nurses and health care workers unions in 14 nations in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe have announced plans to form a new international organization to step up the fight against the harmful effects of austerity measures, privatization, and cuts in health care services that they say are putting people and communities at risk across the planet.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 26, 2013  »

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In: Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Unsafe Staffing

While more than 900 nurses came to San Francisco for the 2013 Staff Nurse Assembly, here the world came to them.  Minnesota nurses met colleagues from Ireland, Australia, Korea, and Brazil as well as from across the US.  They learned that staffing issues and budget cuts are affecting their job quality and their patients’ safety everywhere.

“We’re not alone in our struggles,” said Katie Skipton, “where we’re from, Bemidji, we can sometimes feel it’s just our problem-with staffing especially.  It’s a big deal.  We’re finding out that we’re not the only ones that are dealing with us, and we’re not the only ones who are fighting. 
… Read more about: It’s a small world after all.  »

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In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Nurses, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

Approaching Death    A nurse goes from the ER to a hospice, and changes the way she thinks about life and its end.

AACN Issues Practice Alert on Alarm Management   A new practice alert from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses outlines evidence-based protocols to reduce false or non-actionable alarms and improve the effective use of these monitoring aids.

LABOR UPDATES

Supreme Court Weakens Chances of Workers Winning Employment Discrimination Cases   By restricting who counts as a supervisor, the Court has handed employers a victory.

HEALTH CARE NEWS

Health of U.S.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 24, 2013: Nurses and Hospice care; SCOTUS weakens workers’  »

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In: Activism, Health Care Reform, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety

NOTES ON NURSING

SF BridgeNurses Take Activism Beyond the Bedside   Nurses and environmental activists from across the U.S. are joining hands this week to step up the message that there is still time to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline before it stops all of us.

St. Louis University Hospital RNs Win First Contract   Registered nurses at Saint Louis University Hospital (SLUH) have won their first ever collective bargaining agreement with a new three year contract that provides for significant improvements in patient care protections, compensation, and job protections.

HEALTH CARE

AMA Recognizes Obesity as a Disease   Experts in obesity have struggled for years to have obesity recognized as a disease that deserves medical attention and insurance coverage as do other diseases.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 19, 2013: Nurses march; Jobs gap for Black Americans  »

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In: Activism, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

LABOR UPDATES

OSHA To Investigate 2nd Plant Explosion in Louisiana    OSHA had cited the company for 14 alleged safety and health violations, 12 of which were described by the agency as serious.

HEALTH CARE

FBI:  Chicago Patients Suffer as For-Profit Hospital Frauds Medicare  “This complaint alleges the hospital and doctors were performing unnecessary invasive surgery to justify false billing.”

Children’s Hospitals Well-Positioned to Handle Reform  Standalone children’s hospitals have the financial fortitude to take reform challenges head on, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

NOTES ON NURSING

Fewer Nurses, More Assistants in Montreal OR   At the end of that presentation, Richard Fahey, MUHC director of public affairs, handed journalists a USB stick containing nearly 600 pages of budget documents that spell out the cuts.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 17, 2013: Patients suffer as hospital profits; LA plant where workers died was cited previously  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Uncategorized, Unsafe Staffing

First there was the crowd.  Then there were the signs.  Then there were the red uniforms that adorned every man, woman, and child in the auditorium.  The scene was set for a champion sports team to walk in the room, but this huge crowd was there to see the contract negotiators.  When they entered the room, more than 225 nurses and their families cheered and applauded to show solidarity with their elected bargaining team at the Essentia-St. Mary’s contract talks and bid good morning to management’s team.  In the end, nurses won an agreement with management they could say is the result of  hard work by the negotiating team, but also because nurses showed Essentia that nurses are united and strong.
… Read more about: Crowd of Nurses Support Essentia Bargaining Team; Tentative Agreement Won in 33 Hr. Marathon  »

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In: Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Unsafe Staffing

Operating Room Nurses at First Light Health System in Mora started turning up in red lipstick while other nurses wore red scrubs to show support as negotiations began on a new contract.   Some nurses who couldn’t wear red expressed their solidarity with the bargaining leaders by dressing up their scrubs with a little red flair.

Negotiations began two weeks ago with nurses asking for more seniority rights, addressing scheduling issues, improvements in on-call pay and on-call process, and the use of remaining sick and vacation pay to be used to pay for continuing health coverage for retirees.

Bargaining Chair Margie Odendahl said they’re working to get more first choice shifts for senior nurses and for a percentage of on-call time to count towards seniority.
… Read more about: Pucker up to support Mora Nurses  »