MNA Daily NewsScan, November 21, 2012: Accretive pays; Thanks nurses
HEALTH CARE
Hospitals Spend Big Advertising Bucks to Attract New Patients But some health care experts question whether hospitals should spend so much money on promotion and advertising, especially the nonprofit health systems that pour tax-exempt funds into these campaigns.
Accretive Pays Harassed Hospital Patients Minnesota hospital patients who endured abusive billing tactics linked to Accretive Health Inc. have begun receiving restitution payments averaging $4,000 apiece, Attorney General Lori Swanson said Tuesday.
Political Cartoon: Pilgrim’s Progress
LABOR UPDATES
Support Wal-Mart Workers on Black Friday
Worker Group Says Wal-Mart Management Scripted to Threaten Workers
EEOC Settlements Indicate Employers Pay Big For Sexual Harassment Recent EEOC settlements demonstrate that when faced with egregious sexual harassment allegations, many employers would rather settle than face bad press, a prolonged trial and uncertain outcomes.
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MNA Daily NewsScan, November 20, 2012: Sutter profits-patients suffer; Vets unaware of benefits due them
NOTES ON NURSING
Natick (MA) Nurses Want More Staff Mancuso, a Milford resident, said nurses have to pick up some duties of personal care assistants, and also handle post-operative care that may pull them away from their regular rounds.”Overall we’re taking on more hats and not getting any help,” she said.
Strike is On at 10 Northern California Hospitals This is the latest protest over demands by Sutter corporate officials for sweeping reductions in patient care protections and nurses’ contract standards – despite Sutter being one of the wealthiest hospital chains in the U.S.
LABOR UPDATES
Be Wary of the “Fix the Debt” Coalition Fix the Debt, the unserious coalition of CEOs and corporations who are lobbying to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid while increasing tax breaks for their companies to send jobs overseas, have spent nearly $1 billion in lobbying and campaign contributions during the past four years, according to a new Public Campaign study.
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MNA Daily NewsScan, November 19, 2012: Hospital racket slows recovery; O! Canada for economical, great health care
LABOR UPDATES
Dayton Urges Union Members to Fight for Better Pay DFL Gov. Mark Dayton told several hundred janitors, security officers, airport service workers and retail cleaners on Saturday that they won’t get the wages they deserve unless they negotiate for it.
HEALTH CARE
Why Health Care Costs Trillions Less in Canada Between 1980 and 2009, Medicare spending per beneficiary in the U.S. rose from $1,215 to $9,446, which was a 198% increase after adjusting for inflation. But in Canada, comparable spending rose from $2,141 to $9,292, or an inflation-adjusted rate of 73%. Think of it this way: for every $10 spent on services in the U.S., Canada spent $3.36.
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MNA NewsScan, November 16, 2012: New book is love story to nursing profession
NOTES ON NURSING
“The American Nurse” is a love story for the profession.“I thought I was making a book that would celebrate nurses. I ended up gaining a better understanding of the country through the lens of the American nurse. I have altered my thinking about religion; I have completely changed my feelings about end-of-life.”
LABOR UPDATES
The ethics gap keeps widening for big money – BP Fined a Record $4B; Displayed “Profit Over Prudence” Federal officials blamed BP’s culture of profit for the spill. “The explosion of the rig was a disaster that resulted from BP’s culture of privileging profit over prudence,” said Assistant Atty.
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MNA Daily NewsScan, November 15, 2012: 49.7M in poverty; More workers face high-deductible health plans
HEALTH CARE
In the continuing meningitis outbreak scandal, today’s NY Times has an expose on how high-powered corporate influence helped drug compounders avoid tighter rules.
Cost of Providing Health Benefits Rises at Lowest Level in 15 Years …. the rest of the story is that the low rate is directly due to employers forcing high-deductible plans on workers.
NOTES ON NURSING
Sutter, HCA Nurses to Strike November 20 At the Sutter hospitals, the walkout is in response to demands by Sutter corporate officials for sweeping reductions in patient care protections and nurses’ contract standards at these hospitals.
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MNA Daily NewsScan, November 14, 2012: Too much Tylenol?; $10M tax break to hospitals
NOTES ON NURSING
MNA members are gathering at the headquarters office for a 3-day leadership skills tune up. Read what Joe Howard said about his recent experience at an earlier training.
U.S. Rate of Premature Births Still at a “C;” Ranked with Somalia, Thailand and Turkey The United States is slowly reducing its rate of premature births, bringing the rate to 11.7 percent in 2011, but the figure is still higher than public health advocates believe it should be.
Many Hospital Patients Receive Too Much Acetaminophen Acetaminophen – sold as Tylenol – is a common painkiller on its own, but also an ingredient in stronger narcotics such as Percocet and Vicodin.
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MNA Daily NewsScan, November 13, 2012: Hospitals mine data for self-promotion
HEALTH CARE
Hospitals Mine Patient Data for Self-Promotion You might not know it when you seek care from some of central Ohio’s hospital systems, but your health information makes you a potential marketing target.
NOTES ON NURSING
Patients Shy About Requesting Providers Wash Hands Only 64 percent and 54 percent of patients indicated that they would feel comfortable asking nurses or physicians to wash their hands, respectively. Still fewer patients (14 percent) reported having ever asked a healthcare worker to wash their hands.
LABOR NEWS
WalMart Workers Organize Action for Black Friday Walmart workers are trying to organize a single massive strike on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, and the “official” start of Christmas shopping season).
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MNA Daily NewsScan, November 12, 2012: Nurses in short supply for Vets; Twilight for Twinkies?
LABOR NOTES
Tax Fairness Rally WHEN: Monday, November 12th at 11:00am – Noon
WHERE: S 8th Street and Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.
Twilight for Twinkies? Striking workers formed a picket line at the company’s Sacramento, Calif., plant Sunday, two days after the walkout began when the company imposed a contract that would cut wages by 8 percent.
NOTES ON NURSING
Nurses in Short Supply for Veterans Samiley’s specialty at the VA’s primary care clinic is homeless veterans. Most of his patients served in the Vietnam War and come with diabetes or hypertension as well as mental health needs.
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MNA Daily NewsScan, November 9, 2012: Congrats Rep. Erin Murphy
NOTES ON NURSING
Rep. Erin Murphy Is New House Majority Leader House Democrats have elected former MNA Executive Director, Erin Murphy as House Majority Leader.
Hurricane Sandy Update Aid to victims of hurricane Sandy is still very much needed. The AFL-CIO is coordinating with United Way to raise funds to help families devastated by the disaster. Here’s the link to help.
LABOR NEWS
NY Subway Repairs Border on “the Edge of Magic” Workers traversed darkened, slippery tunnels, inspecting sludgy tracks, equipment and third rails. Even the subway map itself was reimagined, as bright lines were faded to represent downed service.
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