Incredible show of solidarity as 150 nurses, family members, and fellow union members greet the St. Luke’s bargaining team prior to negotiations. Then, an emotional message from about the importance to respect nurses by offering them a fair offer for their continued hard work under short-staffed situations.
… Read more about: Support and solidarity for Duluth nurses prior to contract talks »
Sanford Health has a lot of money and a lot of hospitals, but one more thing they’re bringing to Minnesota is scrutiny. The nonprofit healthcare giant that runs facilities from Adrian to Wheaton now wants to add the Twin Cities to its corporate footprint, but Sanford executives got an earful of how their arrogance caused them to underestimate the height of the hurdles needed to takeover Fairview Health and the University of Minnesota Medical Center and research labs.
Minnesota Nurses have been talking about the short staffing situations in Bagley, Bemidji, Thief River Falls, and other facilities since Sanford took those over. MNA President Linda Hamilton and Bemidji bargaining unit chair Peter Danielson were invited to give testimony.
… Read more about: Sanford put in the hotseat over attempted Fairview/U of M takeover »
NOTES ON NURSING
Better Staffing Would Help Hospitals Fail to Take Simple Measures to Thwart Deadly Infections The culprit is a strain of a spore-forming bacterium known as Clostridium difficile, or C. diff—in particular, a relatively recent strain that has grown more virulent and resistant to drugs.
LABOR UPDATES
Twin Cities Metro Plumbers Devote a Day of Service to Help Those in Need It’s a chance to help Minnesotans who might not otherwise be able turn to a professional plumber, and to reduce wasted expenses going down the drain.
CEO Percs Flying High Dodd-Frank rules?
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 8, 2013: C-Diff on the rise; Swanson grills Sanford execs »
Standards of Care Update
MNA nurses and representatives continue to meet with legislators to update them on the goals of the Standards of Care Act. MNA is proposing that hospitals be required to report their staffing plans and actual nurse hours per patient day, and a Department of Health study of hospital staffing and its effect on nursing sensitive indicators like infections, falls and pressure ulcers. We are confident that a MDH study will validate what nurses already know–that proper nurse staffing leads to better nurse outcomes–but we also recognize the need for Minnesota-specific data. Our main objective for the remainder of the 2013 legislative session is to ensure that a comprehensive and accurate study is completed.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, April 5, 2013 »
KSTP-TV reports the final audit confirms what Minnesota Nurses have long argued-that the healthcare system in the state is need of greater transparency and some of Minnesota’s HMOs owe the taxpayers a refund.
“When taxpayer dollars for patient care are so scarce,” said MNA President Linda Hamilton, “it’s unconscionable that even one penny could be wasted when it could’ve gone to treat somebody’s mother or grandmother. Instead it’s padding somebody’s bank account somewhere.”
An independent auditor, the Segal Company, reveals in a report issued March 31 the government overpaid the four insurance companies that run the state’s Medicaid program by $207 million.
… Read more about: Final Report shows taxpayers overpaid HMOs $200 Million »
Kathleen M. Harrington Mayo
Government Relations, Chair 200 First Street SW Rochester, MN 55905
Dear Ms. Harrington:
Thank you for bringing your Operations staff to meet with leaders from SEIU and UNITE HERE last Friday to discuss the Mayo Destination Medical Center (DMC) and the related legislative proposal. While we have significant concerns and unanswered questions, we are excited about the possibility of significant job growth in the health care and hospitality sectors.
We look forward to meeting again in the very near future and to discussing specific proposals about the future DMC workforce and how collective bargaining can ensure these are quality jobs.
… Read more about: Open letter to Mayo’s Government Relations Chair »
LABOR UPDATES
Harry Kelber: 1914 – 2013 Harry Kelber spent 80 years as a labor activist. Through it all he championed worker ownership of their unions. When Labor Notes commissioned a roundtable on “organizing the unorganized” in 2007, Harry’s contribution argued that rank-and-file workers should be part of organizing drives.
HEALTH CARE
Did Hospitals Profit Off Drugs Meant for the Poor? An inquiry by a U.S. senator has found that three nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina have made millions from a discount drug program intended to help the poor and uninsured.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 3, 2013: RIP Harry Kelber; CAH Mortality Skyrockets »
NOTES ON NURSING
Fatigue is Pervasive in the Health Care Industry; Directly Linked to On-the-job Errors Sixty-nine percent of healthcare professionals surveyed said that fatigue had caused them to feel concern over their ability to perform during work hours. Even more alarmingly, nearly 65 percent of participants reported they had almost made an error at work because of fatigue and more than 27 percent acknowledged that they had actually made an error resulting from fatigue.
PA Considers Nursing by the Numbers A pair of Democratic state lawmakers have introduced bills in both the House and Senate that would mandate a minimum number of registered nurses-to-patient ratio at all hospitals in the state.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 1, 2013: RN fatigue pervasive and harmful to patients »
Nurses support Attorney General Review of Sanford-Fairveiw
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jan Rabbers
(office) 651-414-2861
(cell) 612-860-8858
jan.rabbers@mnnurses.org
Rick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org
(St. Paul) – March 28, 2013 – The Minnesota Nurses Association welcomes Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson’s inquiry into the possible merger of Sanford Health and Fairview Health Services and the continued corporatization of healthcare in Minnesota. Investigators need to continue to look into the effects that big corporations are having on Minnesota patients.
“We congratulate Lori Swanson for having the courage to examine any deal that further puts the operation of more Minnesota hospitals into the hands of fewer corporations,” said Walt Frederickson, RN, MNA Executive Director.
… Read more about: Press Release-Minnesota Nurses Welcome Swanson’s Inquiry into Hospital Merger »
NOTES ON NURSING
RN Grad Student: “The $4450 Urgent Care Visit “This was one patient on one day in one healthcare facility incurring every form of systemic waste Fineberg puts forth in his article and is also illustrated by Stephen Brill’s lengthy account of overcharging, particularly those who are uninsured or underinsured.”
HEALTH CARE
Fairview-Sanford Merger Talks Bring Scrutiny Fairview Health Services, the Twin Cities’ second-largest hospital and clinic group, is weighing a merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health in negotiations that have triggered concerns on the part of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 27, 2013: AG Swanson sets public hearings on Fairview-Sanford merger »