Hospitals (Page 24)

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics, Right to Work

LABOR

The Moral Test of Government    Romney and Ryan and their corporate backers know this, and both candidates have challenged the very idea of a worker’s right to stick together and bargain for basic rights — including fair pay, health care and retirement benefits.

Mid-Level Jobs Squeezed in Economic Forecast   “The big story is there’s a lot of jobs at the top end and bottom end, but not a lot of jobs in the middle,” said Drew Digby, the region’s labor analyst for DEED. “There is a continuing squeeze for manufacturing and government jobs while classic middle class jobs, like teachers, will be harder and harder to get.”

Steelworkers Reach Tentative Agreement   U.S.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, Sept. 4, 2012: Labor Day reflections; Nurses on cleanup duty  »

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HEALTH CARE

Park Nicollet Health Services & HealthPartners to Merge   If approved by federal regulators, the agreement would go into effect January 1st. The new nonprofit would be a health care delivery and finance organization named HealthPartners with 15-hundred physicians.   What’s behind the merger, and what lies ahead?

Read MNA’s Statement 

California Hospitals Fined for Medical Errors   In  the latest round of civil penalties issued for violations or  deficiencies constituting an immediate jeopardy to the health and safety of a  hospital patient, California hospitals were  penalized for making patient care errors that led to five deaths and  necessitated repeat surgery in seven patients.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 31, 2012: Health Care Merger; Labor Day Activities; Organizing Victories  »

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Statement by Minnesota Nurses Association Executive Director Walter Frederickson, RN on Park Nicollet Health Services/HealthPartners Merger

As corporatization of health care continues its relentless march in Minnesota with the merger of Park Nicollet Health Services and HealthPartners, nurses raise a voice of concern to warn that one size does not fit all.  Each health situation is unique and can require a multitude of resources at any given moment.

Simultaneously, patients deserve a basic standard of care, and enough RN staffing to be able to anticipate crises as they emerge on each shift.   As traditionally bottom-line obsessed corporations grow, so too must our voice continue to grow to ensure patients are always placed above profits.
… Read more about: MNA Statement on Twin Cities Health Care Merger  »

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HEALTH CARE

Patients Balk at Corporate Health Care   When the local, independent hospital becomes part of a larger health system, whether Sanford Health, Essentia Health, Mayo Clinic or another, the hospitals also can become more impersonal, bureaucratic and frustrating.

U.S. Lags in Preventable Deaths    More bad news for the U.S. health care system. According to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund, America is worst among three other industrialized nations when it comes to preventing avoidable deaths through timely, effective medical care. The problem, once again, is the lack of health insurance, the report suggests.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 30, 2012: State employee contracts rejected by legislative panel; Patients balk at corporate health care;  »

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HEALTH CARE

National Nurses United’s RoseAnn DeMoro Named to Top 100 Most Influential Health Care List for 11th Straight Year   DeMoro, who is number 36 on the list of 100, is one of only eight people to be named to the list for each of the 11 years it has been compiled. She is also one of only two women to be named every year on a list that is dominated by figures in government and corporate healthcare institutions.

NOTES ON NURSING

Unsafe Nurse-to-Patient Staffing Ratios are a Key Cause of 98,000 Preventable Deaths Each Year    Registered nurses form the backbone of this system, providing triage and treatment. 
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 28, 2012: DeMoro tops; RN staffing & preventable deaths; Collectiving cargaining on MI ballot  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Worth Watching: MNA RNs help recovering patient see his son’s West Coast wedding.

HEALTH CARE

Worth Reading: The Center For Public Integrity has a series out on how politicians are manipulating the facts about medicare during election season.

Moody’s Investors Service has declared that not-for-profit hospitals are financially stable for now, but the fiscal realities of the Affordable Care Act could darken that picture in the future.

LABOR

Right-to-work: “They want to run us to death.”
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 27, 2012 – MNA RNs Help Recovering Patient See Son’s West Coast Wedding  »

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HEALTH CARE

Fairview Health Services wants to spend $53 million to … wait for it … make capital improvements.

From The New York Times: A Night the ER Staff in Aurora, Colorado will never forget.

LABOR

Hundreds of nurses in the Boston area will vote next week whether or not to authorize a strike.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 24, 2012 – Fairview Wants to Spend $53m … on Buildings; Boston RNs Ponder Strike Vote; A Night ER Staff Will Never Forget  »

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HEALTH CARE

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Hospitals are blaming health care reform and the economy for cutting back on staffing levels.

Underscoring hospitals’ interest in employee health, 84 percent of medical facilities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut that responded to a new survey offer workers a wellness program or activity.

Study: Middle Class Suffered “Worst Decade in Modern History” as wages stagnated, share of income fell.

LABOR

If you’re headed to the State Fair, make sure you stop by the MNA booth to say hello!
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 23, 2012 – State Fair Begins; Hospitals Sing Familiar Tune  »

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HEALTH CARE

Sad story gets more grief: Jennifer Gallagher, a nurse who cared for Aurora shooting victims at the University of Colorado Hospital last month, drowned on Aug. 6 while swimming in Iowa’s Lake Okoboji.

Montana’s hospitals generally provide a sizable amount of charity care and community benefits, but a study released by the state’s attorney general has questioned the values stated by some of the facilities, reported the Helena Independent Record.

What are the 10 health care jobs most impacted by the new Affordable Care Act? Find out!
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 22, 2012 – Tragic Story Gets Worse; Hospitals’ Charity Care in Question  »

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HEALTH CARE

Medical Errors Continue to Dog Health Care   A new Wolters Kluwer Health Survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers revealed that nearly one third of Americans (30 percent) have  experienced a medical mistake either firsthand or from a third-party. A majority (68 percent) believe that as  the  medical field continues to adopt new technologies, medical errors will decrease.

Time for Medicine to Take Its Own Pulse   The truth is that for a large part of medical practice, we don’t know what works. But we pay for it anyway. Our annual per capita health care expenditure is now more than $8,000.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 21, 2012: Med errors still high; Not enough profit, UnitedHealth turns back on 174,000 Wisconsonites  »