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On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Sanford

By Diane Scott, RN

MNA Member

We all know the stories. A mom couldn’t get her son to the right specialist because it was out of the hospital’s “network.” Another mom couldn’t get occupational or physical therapy for her daughter without having to fight like hell to get it. How many times have MNA nurses cried at work and heard the stories of their long fights with their employer because their children could not get the healthcare they deserve? What about the non-contract employees and patients who can’t fight?

On October 24, 2017, MNA decided to fight back. We filed a second step class action grievance on behalf of all Registered Nurses working at Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota Bemidji.
… Read more about: The Union Difference  »

On:
In: Elections, Home

 

By Eileen Gavin

MNA Political Organizer

In a few days, residents of St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth will choose their next mayor and city council members, respectively. Polls will be open 7 a.m.– 8p.m. Tuesday, Nov 7. Elections are critically important for nurses, patients, and working families. MNA members need to come out and ensure that candidates who share nurses’ values are elected.

MNA has endorsed Dai Thao for St. Paul mayor. “He shares nurses’ progressive values and has committed to actively supporting nurses on our top issues including safe staffing in hospitals, single-payer healthcare, collective bargaining rights for all workers, and Earned Sick and Safe Time,” said President Mary C.
… Read more about: Come Out to Vote November 7  »

On:
In: Action, Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association

By Tara Fugate

MNA Strategic Researcher

A common misconception about nonprofit hospital finance is that, unlike publicly traded corporations, they are not responsible to shareholders or investors. In fact, many hospital expansion and construction projects are funded by investors through the use of municipal bonds. Municipal bonds are not unlike loans from the public. Hospitals work through municipal entities such as cities and counties to issue bonds for public purchase.

A bond is a type of debt investment. This means that an investor or bondholder loans money to an entity (typically corporate or governmental) for a defined period of time at a variable or fixed interest rate.
… Read more about: Municipal Bonds and Nonprofit Hospitals  »

On:
In: Action, Activism, Home, Nurses, RNRN

By Charlotte “Kava” Zabawa, RN

MNA Member, GAC Commissioner, CARN Member

 

A week ago, when the bombing occurred in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, I was at MNA’s convention in Rochester, unaware.  My friend and fellow nurse left the convention early to return to Minneapolis in order to, as she said, “pick up a friend at the airport.”  I was still clueless.

 

It wasn’t until I returned home and read the paper, Tuesday, that I learned what happened and guessed the real reason my dear nurse friend had left the convention.
… Read more about: Offering Help: Nurse to Nurse  »

On:
In: Fairview, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, Nonprofit, Nurses

By Tara Fugate

MNA Strategic Researcher

 

Something that still manages to shock a lot of people in the US is the growing number of similarities between nonprofits and for-profit hospitals. In 2013, 7 of the 10 most profitable hospitals in the country were classified as nonprofit. A 2013 study published in Health Affairs, examined factors contributing to hospital profitability. The study examined data from Medicare Cost Reports submitted by 2,993 acute care hospitals and produced a list of the top ten hospitals in the country with the highest profit from patient care (for fiscal year 2013).
… Read more about: Your Guide to the World of Nonprofit Finance-part 1  »

On:
In: Home, Hospitals, Patient Safety

By Rick Fuentes

MNA Communications Specialist

 

There’s an old joke, “what’s the definition of a conservative?  A liberal who got mugged.  What’s the definition of a liberal?  A conservative who lost his job.”  More true than funny, it shows us how we cling to our political beliefs until something happens to us.  Case in point, this country music guitarist who has publicly admitted he was wrong on gun ownership.  He’s not alone.  We get sick, we want good healthcare.  We have kids, we want good schools.  We experience a shooting, we want gun control.  Conversely, when we don’t experience a shooting, we look the other way.
… Read more about: Making Sense of the Nonsensical  »

nurse protest

On:
In: Home, Member Blog, Nurse education, Nurses, overtime, Patient Safety, Patient Safety Standards

By Diane Scott

MNA Member

 

It was a beautiful fall day. The oak trees were breathtaking. That was outside… Inside the hospital, chaos ensued. We were short staffed. Yep, plain-old short-staffing, once again.

The charge nurse asked the nurses working their eight-hour day shifts to stay and also work the evening shift. All five of these nurses said no. They were too tired, and, in their professional judgment, it would be unsafe for their patients. Then, the nurse manager approached one of those nurses and said, “you have to stay or I am going to report you for abandoning your patients.” The nurse said, “but, but…,” put her head down, got teary-eyed, and called home to tell her kids she would be home about midnight.
… Read more about: BOOM! (Bunch of Outrageous Malarkey)  »

On:
In: Elections, Governor, Home, Press Releases

For Immediate Release

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

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

(St. Paul) – September 20, 2017 – The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Nurses Association voted on Wednesday to endorse fellow nurse Representative Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) for Governor of Minnesota.  The MNA Board followed the recommendation of the nurse members’ screening committee that screened eight candidates from the DFL, GOP, and Independent parties on Saturday, September 9.

“Nurses decided to endorse Erin Murphy not just because she’s a fellow registered nurse,” said Mary C.
… Read more about: Press Release: Minnesota Nurses Endorse State Representative Erin Murphy for Governor  »

On:
In: Home, Hospitals, Nurses, Opiods

By Sara Wahto, RN

MNA Member

 

As if Nurses and other health professionals don’t have enough to worry about with long hours, no breaks, and assaults. Now we also have to worry about unintentional exposure and a possible overdose death. Carfentanil, an analog of synthetic opioids used for large animals, including elephants, is 10,000 times as strong as morphine, and it’s out on the streets and being mixed with multiple other drugs such as heroin. Normally, a nurse or any healthcare worker wouldn’t think that he or she would be in danger of something drug users use to get high, but, unfortunately Carfentanil in a powder form only takes 2 grains the size of a salt grain to cause death.
… Read more about: Lions and Tigers and Nurses and Elephants  »

On:
In: Activism, Bernie Sanders, Home, Politics, Single Payer

By Geri Katz

MNA Healthcare Reform Specialist

 

The last few weeks in healthcare justice advocacy have been like nothing I’ve ever seen in my whole career. If you had asked me six or eight months ago, “do you think Single Payer healthcare will be having a renaissance in the United States in 2017?” I would have laughed at you.

The debate over repealing the Affordable Care Act laid bare the GOP’s real attitude toward healthcare: “if you can’t afford your medical bills, it’s your fault;” “American lives aren’t worth as much as tax cuts for the wealthy.” It was clear they had no solutions to the problems Americans really have with healthcare, such as the skyrocketing premiums, high deductibles, and the stranglehold insurance companies have over our healthcare decisions.
… Read more about: Is it finally time for Single Payer?  »