Issues

Blog posts categorized as Issues will pull into the Issues & Advocacy > Issues page.

On:
In: Issues, Metro Bargaining, Nurse Staffing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

Lives are at risk when nurses are required to care for too many patients at one time. That’s not just what nurses say—it’s what the data proves.

Two studies involving over 600,000 patients in New York and Illinois examined how nurse workloads affect patient outcomes and hospital finances. The results were staggering:

On:
In: Corporate Healthcare, Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, Issues, Keeping Nurses at the Bedside, Legislative Policy, Mary Turner, Minnesota Department of Health, Nurse Staffing, Patient Safety, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lauren Nielsen(c) 651-376-9709lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.orgAmber Smigiel(c) 651-202-0845amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org
(St. Paul) – September 27, 2023 – Nurses are once again speaking out after the Minnesota Department of Health’s report
… Read more about: Nurses call on MN legislature to act after report of increasing adverse patient events  », released today, details an increasing number of reported adverse health events in Minnesota hospitals. This news comes at a time when at least one major health chain in the metro area is proposing even further reductions to the number of nurses caring for patients.Nurses continue to sound the alarm that there is a crisis of patient care and retention by hospital executives in Minnesota’s hospitals.

On:
In: Home, Issues, Nurse Staffing, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sam Fettig
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org

Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – May 11, 2022 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) today shared the results of an annual report on Concern for Safe Staffing (CFSS) forms which paint a bleak picture of the crisis of understaffing by hospital executives in Minnesota healthcare facilities. The report documents an explosive 300 percent growth in CFSS forms filed since 2014, up to a total of 7,857 in the last year.
… Read more about: New report details crisis of understaffing for nurses and patients in Minnesota hospitals  »

On:
In: Home, Issues, Nurses Week, Press Releases, Unsafe Staffing

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Sam Fettig
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org

Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – May 9, 2022 – At 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Minnesota nurses will hold a press conference at the Minnesota State Capitol to share the results of an annual report on Concern for Safe Staffing (CFSS) forms filed by nurses at hospitals throughout the state. The event comes as Minnesota nurses mark Nurses Week 2022.

For more than 25 years, Minnesota nurses have submitted CFSS forms when they are concerned that short staffing may negatively impact patient care.
… Read more about: Nurses to release annual ‘Concern for Safe Staffing’ report during Nurses Week  »

On:
In: Issues, Legislative Policy, Nurse Staffing, Nurses Shortage, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sam Fettig
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org
Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – May 2, 2022 – Minnesota nurses celebrated passage of the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act by the Minnesota House of Representatives today. The act, designed to retain nurses and protect patient care, passed the House as part of the Health & Human Services omnibus bill. While Minnesota nurses raised the alarm about chronic understaffing by hospital CEOs for years, today’s action is the first-ever vote by a body of the Minnesota Legislature to hold hospital executives accountable to provide safe staffing levels for patients and nurses in our hospitals.
… Read more about: Nurses celebrate historic passage of Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act in Minnesota House, urge Senate action  »

On:
In: Home, Issues, Nurse Staffing, Nurses Shortage, Press Releases, Unsafe Staffing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sam Fettig
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org

Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – March 31, 2022 – Minnesota nurses released a new report today – “Why We Left: 2022 Nursing Workforce Report” – which identifies poor hospital management and chronic short staffing as the top issues driving nurses away from bedside care. In a roundtable discussion at the State Capitol today, nurses who retired early or left full-time bedside care positions shared stories of their experiences, including why they left and what it would have taken for them to stay.
… Read more about: Minnesota nurses share ‘Why We Left’ the bedside in new report, call for solutions to staffing and retention crisis  »

On:
In: Home, Issues, Mary Turner, Nursing

This weekend marks the second anniversary of our peacetime emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past two years, we have lost over 12,000 Minnesotans and over 6 million worldwide. Among those lost are family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and other loved ones. Among those lost are some of our own—nurses and healthcare professionals.

We have suffered through the unthinkable. We have dealt with inadequate PPE, unsafe staffing levels, moral injury, and lip-service from those who have the power to solve these problems. But through it all, we’ve continued to do what we’ve always done—care for our patients.

We are tired and we are heartbroken, yes.
… Read more about: Statement from MNA President Mary C. Turner, RN on the Second Anniversary of the MN Peacetime Emergency for the COVID-19 Pandemic  »

On:
In: Home, Issues, Legislative Policy, Nurse Staffing, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sam Fettig
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org

Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

Legislation aims to retain nurses, prioritize patient care and hold hospital CEOs accountable

Introduced today by Sen. Erin Murphy and Rep. Liz Olson, bill a legislative priority for Senate Minority Caucus

WATCH: Click here to watch this morning’s press conference.
LISTEN: Click here for audio of this morning’s press conference.

(St. Paul) – February 3, 2022 – Minnesota nurses today joined Senator Erin Murphy (DFL-St.
… Read more about: Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act will put patients before profits  »

On:
In: Home, Issues, Mayo, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sam Fettig
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.org

Lauren Nielsen
(o) 651-414-2862
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – January 19, 2022 – This week, 672 nurse members of the Minnesota Nurses Association filed a petition with hospital management at six Mayo Clinic facilities, demanding action to curtail the worsening staffing crisis and recognize nurses’ sacrifices throughout the pandemic.

“Nurses continue to work under extremely difficult circumstances to care for our patients while Mayo CEOs make millions off our hard work,” said Kelly Rosevold, RN at Mayo Clinic Health System – Mankato.
… Read more about: Hundreds of Mayo Nurses Demand Action on Staffing Crisis  »

On:
In: Activism, Hospitals, Issues, Member Blog

By Chris Rubesch, RN, MNA First Vice President

The landscape of healthcare is changing rapidly and healthcare workers and patients often see and feel the effects of those changes acutely. Recently, the corporatization and consolidation of hospital systems has resulted in the closure of facilities and reduction of services around the region. This issue was most acute this winter with the closure of St. Joe’s Hospital by the HealthEast system. Throughout this process, MNA members were among the loudest voices advocating for the best interests of their patients and communities.

After the closure, we heard from members wanting to conduct a root cause analysis to look at MNA’s response and help us plan for similar future situations.
… Read more about: A Call to Action: Responding to Hospital Closures  »