Hospitals (Page 13)

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In: Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

The bargaining team for HealthEast’s Home Care nurses got a boost from MNA’s E & GW Commissioners who joined them at the table on Wednesday.  The Commissioners came to show the 68-member bargaining unit and management that MNA’s 20,000 members are standing with them in their fight to achieve a first contract.

After observing negotiations over this one particular morning, it became apparent to commissioners that HealthEast administrators are playing games in the talks and hiding behind their attorney to avoid working out a fair contract.  Jennifer Michelson, chair of the E & GW Commission, said administration is disrespecting HealthEast Home Care nurses by refusing to agree to basic provisions that are part of every union contract.
… Read more about: HealthEast Home Care nurses get support in quest for contract  »

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

St. Luke’s nurses approved a new contract they won after coming to a one-day, wage-only focused negotiations showing they were ready to bargain together after three years of strong member engagement.   The strength of the nurses was apparent even at breakfast.

A hearty “Good morning!” was echoed more than 150 times as Duluth nurses turned out in force in the early morning to welcome St. Luke’s Hospital negotiators to the bargaining table.  They saw nurses from St. Luke’s and from competitor Essentia St. Mary’s as well as their friends, families, fellow union members, and even kids in an impressive display of red filling the hotel hallways. 
… Read more about: Show of Strength in Duluth Wins Nurses New Contract  »

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In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nursing, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

Nurses Fight State by State for Minimum Staffing Laws   Legislatures in at least seven states and the District of Columbia are trying to answer that question as they debate bills that would require hospitals to have a minimum number of nurses on staff at all times.

Ruling:  MI Hospital Cheated Nurses Out of Proper Pay   McLaren Lapeer Region improperly cut the wages of 51 registered nurses and must pay them tens of thousands of dollars in back pay, an arbitrator has ruled.

LABOR UPDATES

Minnesota’s Pay Equity Laws Have Bridged Gap for Women   Fifty years after Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, women still make less than men.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 24, 2013: CA adjusting well with state-mandated RN staffing levels  »

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In: Activism, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

Standards of Care Campaign Update
House File 588 (HF588) passed the full Minnesota House of Representatives 73-58 on Wednesday. There was bipartisan support for our bill to require the Department of Health to study the correlation between staffing and patient outcomes and hospitals to report their staffing quarterly to the public. Take a moment to thank our author and champion Representative Joe Atkins. He has gone to the mat for nurses over and over again because he believes us when we say patients are vulnerable in Minnesota’s hospitals today. His email is rep.joe.atkins@house.mn.   The bill still has to clear one more committee in the Senate.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, April 19, 2013  »

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

The Standards of Care Act (HF588) passed the full Minnesota House of Representatives 73-58 earlier this afternoon. There was bipartisan support for our bill to require the Department of Health to study the correlation between staffing and patient outcomes and hospitals to report their staffing quarterly to the public. Can you take a moment to thank our author and champion Representative Joe Atkins? He has gone to the mat for nurses over and over again because he believes us when we say there is a patient safety crisis in Minnesota. His email is rep.joe.atkins@house.mn.

The bill still has to clear one more committee in the Senate.
… Read more about: Standards of Care Act Passes MN House  »

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In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Robin Hood Tax, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

Nurse Crisis in New York   Despite an increase in candidates, the State Nursing Association said hospitals aren’t hiring. In the end, it is hurting patients. State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried is the sponsor of the State Staffing Bill.

What Nurse Jackie Means for America   The reality of health care lurks outside our studio in Queens, New York, and informs some of what the writers create. The relentless money crunches. Corporate overlords coldly pulling strings on delicate medical and staffing decisions. Overcrowded waiting rooms and illogical triage. Communication vacuums between doctor and patient. The constant vulnerability of patients to not only disease, but to the system.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 17, 2013: Nurse crisis in NY; Hospitals profit from errors  »

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In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Politics

By Linda Hamilton, RN, BSN

Attorney General Lori Swanson deserves the gratitude of all Minnesotans for hitting the brakes on the possible Sanford Health-Fairview Health Services merger that meant a takeover of our University of Minnesota Medical Center.  Taxpayers can have confidence that the educational, training, and research facilities they’ve paid for and donated to will stay in local hands.  Minnesota patients can rest easy that the mission to do research and care for the toughest cases will remain a priority.

That said, however, we can’t relax that the continued corporatization of health care in the state won’t continue or that patient care will continue to look very different in the future.
… Read more about: Corporate Mergers Need Watching…with a Microscope!  »

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

MNA Legislative Update, April 12, 2013

Standards of Care Update

On Wednesday the revised bill, focusing on transparency for patients and a Minnesota Department of Health study of the correlation between staffing and patient outcomes, passed the House Ways and Means Committee, completing the committee process in the House and moving on to a floor vote.

In the Senate, the bill was passed by the Health and Human Services Finance Committee this morning. There will be one more committee stop in the Senate, which should happen later this month.

Our main objective for the remainder of the 2013 legislative session is to ensure that a comprehensive and accurate study is completed.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update April 12, 2013  »

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

NOTES ON NURSING

Better Staffing Would Help  Hospitals Fail to Take Simple Measures to Thwart Deadly Infections    The culprit is a strain of a spore-forming bacterium known as Clostridium difficile, or C. diff—in particular, a relatively recent strain that has grown more virulent and resistant to drugs.

LABOR UPDATES

Twin Cities Metro Plumbers Devote a Day of Service to Help Those in Need   It’s a chance to help Minnesotans who might not otherwise be able turn to a professional plumber, and to reduce wasted expenses going down the drain.

CEO Percs Flying High    Dodd-Frank rules?
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 8, 2013: C-Diff on the rise; Swanson grills Sanford execs  »

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

Standards of Care Update

MNA nurses and representatives continue to meet with legislators to update them on the goals of the Standards of Care Act.  MNA is proposing that hospitals be required to report their staffing plans and actual nurse hours per patient day, and a Department of Health study of hospital staffing and its effect on nursing sensitive indicators like infections, falls and pressure ulcers.  We are confident that a MDH study will validate what nurses already know–that proper nurse staffing leads to better nurse outcomes–but we also recognize the need for Minnesota-specific data.  Our main objective for the remainder of the 2013 legislative session is to ensure that a comprehensive and accurate study is completed. 
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, April 5, 2013  »