Hospitals (Page 13)

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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:  »

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Originally posted in the New Ulm Journal: http://www.nujournal.com/page/content.detail/id/534962/Law-change-will-benefit-patients.html?nav=5004

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.

Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL-Inver Grove Heights) and Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) authored a bill that provides for consumer transparency of hospitals’ nurse staffing plans. In addition, the Department of Health will study the correlation between nurse staffing and patient outcomes, with a final report due in January 2015.

Starting in January of 2014, patients will be able to see how many nurses care for them on a public website at www.mnhospitalquality.org/default.aspx Hospitals will be more transparent, and patients will make wiser decisions on where they have a procedure and where they can expect to make the best possible recovery.
… Read more about: Editorial: Law change will benefit patients  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Expert Affirms Nurses’s Warnings About Electronic Health Records System   At a meeting of the Marin Healthcare District board on May 14, a group of Marin General nurses told the board problems with the new computer system were diverting them from their patients and causing errors, such as sending orders to the wrong patients. One nurse reported that a patient had received a medication to which he was allergic.

Worst Times to be Admitted for Heart Attack.  Hint: Involves Nurse Staffing   It’s possible that staffing issues at hospitals during these times are part of the problem; patients who come into the hospitals just before the weekend and late at night may see fewer nursing staff members and this could contribute to less attention that may impact care.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, May 28, 2013: Nurses warn about electronic health system; The Obamacare shock  »