Activism (Page 17)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sara Dorner, MNA, 651-260-4864 cell or sara.dorner@mnnurses.org

“Zombie” Nurses hold Halloween Event on “The Sanford Scare” in Bagley

BAGLEY, Minnesota (October 29, 2102) – Dressed as mindless zombies, nurses will take to Main Street in Bagley from 12-4 pm on Halloween to call attention to Sanford hospital management proposals that they say are “scary” when it comes to protecting patient safety.

“In an unprecedented move, Sanford management came in and threw out a union contract that had been in place for decades,” said Rachel Lewis, an LPN at Sanford Bagley Medical Center.
… Read more about: Press Release: “Zombie” Nurses to hold Halloween Event on “The Sanford Scare” in Bagley  »

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Nursing issues are at stake in this election.  With a nurse-friendly legislature we can:

  • Advance MNA’s Safe Staffing bill
  • Stop the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact from bringing down Minnesota’s nursing standards
  • Protect Workers’ Rights

Many MNA-endorsed candidates are in close races and help from nurses could put them over the top. 
MNA’s 2012 Legislative Scorecard offers insight into voting records on nursing issues of candidates who served in last year’s legislature and are running for re-election.     

Get out your calendar and block out time to:

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NOTES ON NURSING

Irony in Which Jobs Most Likely to Get You Sick or Injured in America   The riskiest job in America is nursing and residential care in a state  government run facility.

HEALTH CARE

The Island Where People Forget to Die  He didn’t expect to live to harvest them, but he enjoyed being in the sunshine, breathing the ocean air.  Six months came and went. Moraitis didn’t die. Instead, he reaped his garden and, feeling emboldened, cleaned up the family vineyard as well.

The Corporate Health Care Money Just Keeps on Flowing Part 1.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, October 26, 2012: Nursing is riskiest job in America  »

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Paul and Sheila Wellstone
1944 – 2002″Politics is about what we create by what we do, what we hope for, and what we dare to imagine.”

NOTES ON NURSING

Nurses Show Solidarity in Opposition to Allina Proposed Uniform Policy    MNA members ”Got the Red Out” this morning at an Arbitration meeting to show MNA solidarity against the uniform policy Allina is attempting to force on nurses.

LABOR

Jobless Claims Fall; Give Clearer Sign of Health    The four-week moving average for jobless claims, which smoothes out such volatility, rose 1,500 to a 368,000.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, October 25, 2012: Allina action; Jobless claims down  »

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Oct. 25, 2012

MNA members “Got the Red Out” this morning at an Arbitration meeting to show MNA solidarity against the uniform policy Allina is attempting to force on nurses. Allina implemented the uniform policy without bargaining with the union.  This unilateral implementation is a glaring disregard for the obligation and respect to bargaining over mandatory subjects impacting nurses working conditions. Members stood together to greet the employer and the arbitrator to show them the power, support for one another and unity. Nurses from Allina system throughout the state as well as other MNA nurses came today.  Message to Allina:  You take on one MNA member; you take on ALL MNA members.
… Read more about: MNA Members In Solidarity to Oppose Allina Uniform Policy  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Hayride For Patient Safety in Marshall  MNA Nurses at Marshall Avera Regional Medical Center took to the streets on Oct. 23 – on a haywagon – to campaign for a fair contract that keeps patients safe.   

LABOR NEWS

Today in History:  In 1940, the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

Equal Pay?  U.S. Still Doesn’t Get it Right    If a young man and woman fresh out of college with the same degree walk into a large firm, typically, the man can get placed in higher-wage jobs than the woman.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, October 24, 2012: Marshall action; Honoring Wellstones; Equal pay news is dismal  »

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HEALTH CARE

“Substantial” Variation from State to State in Hospital Safety Records    The rankings are based on an analysis of data released annually by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and look at how approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide performed on risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for nearly 30 of the most common conditions and procedures.

U.S. Health Care Costs Comparison Doesn’t Add Up   How much is good health care worth to you? $8,233 per year? That’s how much the U.S. spends per person.  Worth it?

LABOR NEWS

Another Blow to Scott Walker’s Attempts to Strip Collective Bargaining Unit Laws  Attorney General J.B.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, October 23, 2012: Take a sick day – you’re fired; Kennedy trial begins  »

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HEALTH CARE

Is Imported Seafood Safe?   In a scathing 2011 report, the General Accounting Office found that in fiscal 2009, the FDA tested about 0.1 percent of all imported seafood products for drug residues.”

Large Employers Look to On-Site Clinics to Reduce Costs and Absenteeism  These facilities are being established by firms across all sectors to offer everything from urgent and primary care to biometric screenings to chronic disease management.

Are Social Factors Tied to Hospital Readmissions?   In the new study, researchers analyzed data from 72 previous papers examining the reasons people died or were readmitted to the hospital, and found that age, race, employment status, living situation, education and income levels are just some of the factors that may play a role.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, Oct. 22, 2012: RI makes flu shots mandatory for HC workers; What factors contribute to readmissions  »

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MNA 107th Annual Convention:  See.  Learn.  Prepare.  Act.

The annual convention of the Minnesota Nurses Association fortified members’ stance on nursing issues and demonstrated their resolve to act collectively on those issues.

“We are MNA,” said President Linda Hamilton, RN, BSN during her opening speech.  “We are 20,000 voices.  We are 20,000 votes.  We are nurses standing together across this country as National Nurses United. We are 185,000 voices. We are 185,000 votes.  Our voices and votes ring loud and true to defend the values we hold dear against the injustice of the corporate machine and corrupted political process.”

200 delegates dug into a packed agenda that mixed organizational business, education, celebration, fun and action during the  one pre-convention and three official days of the event, held from Oct.
… Read more about: MN Nurses 107th Annual Convention Summary  »

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HEALTH CARE

Health Care Fraud Deconstructed:  Fraud and Patients Not the Problem  The bottom line is that there is already enough money in the system to more than adequately cover everybody, if we can eliminate the waste. To do so, we would have to kill a few golden geese. The owners of those geese will be unhappy and will fight tooth and nail, but the rest of us would be much better off.

Lapses at Big Drug Factories Add to Shortages and Dangers   Weevils floating in vials of heparin. Morphine cartridges that contain up to twice the labeled dose.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, October 19, 2012: Who is really scamming the HC system?; Newborns at risk  »