Hospitals (Page 11)

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

MNA at the 2013 Staff Nurse Assembly   Minnesota nurses made up one of the biggest collections of delegates at the annual National Nurses United conference in San Francisco.

Global Nurses United of Nurse, Healthcare Unions, Born   Leaders of the premiere nurses and health care workers unions in 14 nations in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe have announced plans to form a new international organization to step up the fight against the harmful effects of austerity measures, privatization, and cuts in health care services that they say are putting people and communities at risk across the planet.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 26, 2013  »

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In: Activism, Health Care Reform, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety

NOTES ON NURSING

SF BridgeNurses Take Activism Beyond the Bedside   Nurses and environmental activists from across the U.S. are joining hands this week to step up the message that there is still time to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline before it stops all of us.

St. Louis University Hospital RNs Win First Contract   Registered nurses at Saint Louis University Hospital (SLUH) have won their first ever collective bargaining agreement with a new three year contract that provides for significant improvements in patient care protections, compensation, and job protections.

HEALTH CARE

AMA Recognizes Obesity as a Disease   Experts in obesity have struggled for years to have obesity recognized as a disease that deserves medical attention and insurance coverage as do other diseases.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 19, 2013: Nurses march; Jobs gap for Black Americans  »

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In: Activism, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

LABOR UPDATES

OSHA To Investigate 2nd Plant Explosion in Louisiana    OSHA had cited the company for 14 alleged safety and health violations, 12 of which were described by the agency as serious.

HEALTH CARE

FBI:  Chicago Patients Suffer as For-Profit Hospital Frauds Medicare  “This complaint alleges the hospital and doctors were performing unnecessary invasive surgery to justify false billing.”

Children’s Hospitals Well-Positioned to Handle Reform  Standalone children’s hospitals have the financial fortitude to take reform challenges head on, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

NOTES ON NURSING

Fewer Nurses, More Assistants in Montreal OR   At the end of that presentation, Richard Fahey, MUHC director of public affairs, handed journalists a USB stick containing nearly 600 pages of budget documents that spell out the cuts.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 17, 2013: Patients suffer as hospital profits; LA plant where workers died was cited previously  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Uncategorized, Unsafe Staffing

First there was the crowd.  Then there were the signs.  Then there were the red uniforms that adorned every man, woman, and child in the auditorium.  The scene was set for a champion sports team to walk in the room, but this huge crowd was there to see the contract negotiators.  When they entered the room, more than 225 nurses and their families cheered and applauded to show solidarity with their elected bargaining team at the Essentia-St. Mary’s contract talks and bid good morning to management’s team.  In the end, nurses won an agreement with management they could say is the result of  hard work by the negotiating team, but also because nurses showed Essentia that nurses are united and strong.
… Read more about: Crowd of Nurses Support Essentia Bargaining Team; Tentative Agreement Won in 33 Hr. Marathon  »

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In: Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Unsafe Staffing

Operating Room Nurses at First Light Health System in Mora started turning up in red lipstick while other nurses wore red scrubs to show support as negotiations began on a new contract.   Some nurses who couldn’t wear red expressed their solidarity with the bargaining leaders by dressing up their scrubs with a little red flair.

Negotiations began two weeks ago with nurses asking for more seniority rights, addressing scheduling issues, improvements in on-call pay and on-call process, and the use of remaining sick and vacation pay to be used to pay for continuing health coverage for retirees.

Bargaining Chair Margie Odendahl said they’re working to get more first choice shifts for senior nurses and for a percentage of on-call time to count towards seniority.
… Read more about: Pucker up to support Mora Nurses  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Readmissions, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

NY Bill Would Mandate Hospital Nurse Staffing   Advocates say required staffing of one nurse for every two intensive-care patients and 1-to-4 ratios in regular medical-surgical units will improve patient care, reduce deaths, complaints and readmissions and leave hospitals financially intact.

MA Nurses Ratify Contract with Assignment Limits   Highlights of the agreement include contractually guaranteed limits on nurses’ patient assignments for nurses working on the medical surgical units, including no more than five patients on days, an average of five patients on evenings and a mix of five and six patient assignments for nurses on nights.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 12, 2013: NY, MA nurses advance patient safety standards;  »

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In: Activism, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

AHRQ Seeks Comments From Patients to Help Develop Patient Safety Reporting System   There is a growing body of evidence that many adverse medical events go unreported in current systems.  One important reason for this reporting gap is that most reporting systems do not presently accept or elicit reports from patients and their families. AHRQ recognizes that the unique perspective of health care consumers could reveal important information that is not reported by health care providers. NOTE: Comment deadline is July 8, 2013

On the Wings of a Nightingale  Today I ran into a Mexican restaurant to grab a quick lunch, and as I ate my meal I came across a table of nurses wearing hospital scrubs.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 10, 2013: Long-term damage to health research from budget cuts  »

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In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

Night Shift Workers More Likely to Develop Type 2 Diabetes  “It is surprising that just a single night shift can significantly impair glucose tolerance and increase insulin levels,” said Christopher Morris.

National Health System May Bring In Police Officers to Deal with Acute Nursing Shortage   A local forum has discussed the possibility of drafting in assistance from Police Scotland and the Red Cross.  Two months ago it was announced that 30 nursing posts had to be filled as soon as possible at the hospital.

New Law Raises Fines for Assaulting Nurses   Much like law enforcement, health care can be a very dangerous job.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 5, 2013: RN college degree equals lowest unemployment rate  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

In Australia, Nurses Fight for Patient Ratios   “You’re less likely to have the nursing hours you need the further you are from the city,” Miss Telfer said.

NSW Midwives Issued “Cease and Desist” on Patient Limits Despite Shortages      “We accept there is a shortage of midwives out there but management needs to understand that not only are staff at Nepean exhausted, they are deeply concerned that health care is being compromised. They have reached their limit and cannot continue on in this way.”

HEALTH CARE

The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill   In many other developed countries, a basic colonoscopy costs just a few hundred dollars and certainly well under $1,000.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 3, 2013: RN concern for patient safety is worldwide  »

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In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

MNA OpED:  Law Change Will Benefit Patients   (originally published in the New Ulm Journal)  Everyone who’s a patient in a hospital, who might be a patient in a hospital, or who cares about somebody in a hospital will be grateful that the Staffing Plan Disclosure Act was signed into law on May 9.

A Shared Concern:  Flight Attendant Fatigue Poses Safety Risks   Flight attendants exhausted from long hours and little rest have forgotten to engage or disarm emergency chutes, failed to properly stow baggage and carry out other safety duties.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, May 29, 2013:  »