Essentia (Page 3)

On:
In: Activism, Bargaining, Essentia, Home

After multiple contract negotiating sessions, MNA nurses in the Twin Ports are turning to the public in their campaign for a fair contract.

Nurses at Essentia and St. Luke’s hospitals in Duluth and Superior packed the July 8 Duluth City Council meeting to share their concerns and ask for councilors’ support as they negotiate new contracts. Their current contracts expired June 30.

Nearly 200 nurses filled the council chamber and hallways as four MNA members and MNA Executive Director Rose Roach addressed councilors about their concerns about patient care, scheduling the appropriate number of nurses to care for patients, and workplace safety.
… Read more about: Spectacular show of solidarity  »

On:
In: Essentia, Home, Press Releases

Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Barbara Brady
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

 

(St. Paul) – November 20, 2017 – The Minnesota Nurses Association will file grievances to win back the jobs and wages of every single registered nurse fired for not participating in Essentia Health’s mandatory flu shot policy.

“Essentia Health showed nurses they did not intend to bargain with us in good faith,” said Steve Strand, co-chair of the bargaining unit in Duluth.  “We tried to sit down with management, but Essentia executives told us they intend to follow through with terminations and mandatory flu shots regardless.”

MNA nurses proposed a voluntary program that rewards employees for participating in the flu shot, rather than a contentious mandatory policy. 
… Read more about: Press Release: MNA Nurses Will Battle Essentia Health Over Flu Shot Firings  »

CentraCare

On:
In: CentraCare, Essentia, Fairview, Healthcare, HMO, Home, Hospitals, Insurance, Issues

By Tara Fugate

MNA Strategic Researcher

Hospital and health system consolidation is a rapidly expanding trend across the country, and Minnesota is no exception. Many large and mid-sized health systems have been looking to privatize the state’s dwindling number of public hospitals, combine smaller non-profit systems, and also incorporate physicians’ groups and outpatient services into hospital systems. The driving arguments to lobby for these mergers are that larger entities can provide more integrated care and have the ability to make bigger financial investments to improve the quality of care via new tools, such as electronic health records systems. Many studies, however, have shown that price, cost and quality of care are not improved by mergers (see below for links).
… Read more about: Why Minnesotans Should Pay Attention to Hospital Consolidation  »

On:
In: Allina, Essentia, Home, Nurses Strike

What’s taking Allina Health so long?

By Barbara Brady

MNA Communications Specialist

While MNA nurses in Duluth and Superior were working to reach a tentative agreement with Essentia Health on a new three-year contract this week, MNA nurses in the Twin Cities were preparing for a second strike against Allina Health.

Why is this a tale of two or four cities? There’s no reason Allina can’t follow Essentia’s lead and negotiate a contract that benefits the nurses and their employer.  Nurses really do put the care in healthcare.  They provide the value for the hospital.  Often, they are the first and last faces a patient sees when they’re admitted and discharged.
… Read more about: Essentia Hospitals Come to an Agreement with Nurses  »

On:
In: Essentia, Home, Patient Safety, Press Releases

Contact: Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Barbara Brady
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

(Duluth) – August 19, 2016 – After months of trying to negotiate a fair contract, MNA nurses at Twin Ports Essentia Health hospitals are going to the public with their concerns about the hospital system’s refusal to respond to safe staffing proposals by sponsoring billboards in Superior and Duluth.

The billboards read, “Has Essentia lost the care in healthcare? Ask an MNA nurse about staffing.”

“Nurses hope that publicly calling Essentia out on our concerns over safe staffing will bring them back to the negotiating table ready to agree to a contract that benefits all involved: nurses, our hospitals, patients, and our community,” said Essentia Twin Ports MNA Co-Chair Steve Strand.
… Read more about: Press Release: Nurses sponsor billboards to call attention to Essentia’s refusal to negotiate safe staffing  »

On:
In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Essentia, Home, Nursing

By Mathew Keller RN, JD

Mathew Keller, RN JD Regulatory and Policy Nursing SpecialistMathew Keller, RN JD
Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

Limousine service, upgraded television sets, nurse/patient “scripts,” gourmet food service, nurse uniform requirements – hospitals all over the U.S. are offering more “customer-centric” patient care in order to increase patient satisfaction scores, which are becoming more and more important for Medicare reimbursements.

These efforts often have unintended consequences.

In the first place, customer-centric interventions rarely (if ever) improve the quality of care patients receive: rather, they merely improve patients’ perceptions of care.
… Read more about: Essentia Health: Listen to your nurses  »

On:
In: Allina, Bargaining, Essentia, Home, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Politics

By Shannon Cunningham

Director of Governmental and Community Relations

It’d be great if we all could elect our own boss. And the boss’ boss. And the boss’ boss’ boss. A vote against is a vote to fire them. A yes vote is a vote to hire them. Most importantly, no vote at all signals that you just don’t care. Sound familiar? Maybe because we actually can do that now.

It’s why elections matter. Take Attorney General Laurie Swanson, for example. The Minnesota Nurses Association has had a longstanding great relationship with AG Swanson. We have worked with her extensively on issues, such as fair billing practices at hospitals and preventing a merger of Sanford Health and the University of Minnesota..
… Read more about: Politics & Contracts Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Jelly  »