Labor Unions (Page 8)

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In: Labor Unions, National Nurses United, Politics

Kathleen M. Harrington Mayo
Government Relations, Chair 200 First Street SW Rochester, MN 55905

Dear Ms. Harrington:

Thank you for bringing your Operations staff to meet with leaders from SEIU and UNITE HERE last Friday to discuss the Mayo Destination Medical Center (DMC) and the related legislative proposal. While we have significant concerns and unanswered questions, we are excited about the possibility of significant job growth in the health care and hospitality sectors.

We look forward to meeting again in the very near future and to discussing specific proposals about the future DMC workforce and how collective bargaining can ensure these are quality jobs.
… Read more about: Open letter to Mayo’s Government Relations Chair  »

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

LABOR UPDATES

Harry Kelber:   1914 – 2013     Harry Kelber spent 80 years as a labor activist. Through it all he championed worker ownership of their unions. When Labor Notes commissioned a roundtable on “organizing the unorganized” in 2007, Harry’s contribution argued that rank-and-file workers should be part of organizing drives.

HEALTH CARE 

Did Hospitals Profit Off Drugs Meant for the Poor?   An inquiry by a U.S. senator has found that three nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina have made millions from a discount drug program intended to help the poor and uninsured.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 3, 2013: RIP Harry Kelber; CAH Mortality Skyrockets  »

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In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

RN Grad Student:  “The $4450 Urgent Care Visit     “This was one patient on one day in one healthcare facility incurring every form of systemic waste Fineberg puts forth in his article and is also illustrated by Stephen Brill’s lengthy account of overcharging, particularly those who are uninsured or underinsured.”

HEALTH CARE

Fairview-Sanford Merger Talks Bring Scrutiny   Fairview Health Services, the Twin Cities’ second-largest hospital and clinic group, is weighing a merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health in negotiations that have triggered concerns on the part of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson. 
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 27, 2013: AG Swanson sets public hearings on Fairview-Sanford merger  »

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

NOTES ON NURSING

Study Says NICUs Need Nurses   A surprising number of the nation’s neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have too few nurses, a new study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) has found.

HEALTH CARE

It’s Come to This – A Lottery for Health Care Coverage    Tennessee residents who have high medical bills but would not normally qualify for Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor, can call a state phone line and request an application. But the window is tight — the line shuts down after 2,500 calls, typically within an hour — and the demand is so high that it is difficult to get through.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 25, 2013: NICU nurses needed; Tennessee’s HC lottery  »

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In: Labor Unions

Media Advisory from AFL-CIO

Happening in Minneapolis and Duluth on March 24

WHAT: Concerned citizens of Minnesota will rally on March 24 to protect Saturday mail delivery and demand that Congress deliver a better plan to strengthen the Postal Service for the future. Two rallies will take place in Minnesota.  One rally will take place at Minneapolis Main Post Office on Sunday, 3/24/13 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the intersection of 1st Street S and Marquette.  Another rally will be held at the corner of Lake Avenue and Superior Street in Duluth on Sunday, 3/24/13 from noon to 1:00 pm. 
… Read more about: Rallies to Protect Saturday Mail Delivery and Strengthen the Postal Service  »

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

NOTES ON NURSING

Healing the Hospital Hierarchy   Most people in health care understand and accept the need for clinical hierarchies. The problem is that we aren’t usually prepared for them; nor are we given protocols for resolving the inevitable tensions that arise over appropriate care.

LABOR UPDATE

Income Inequality Shapes MN Tax Debate   Even in middle-class, middle-American Minnesota, income inequality is rising. It’s not a new phenomenon.

HEALTH CARE

New Database Reveals Thousands of Hospital Violation Reports    Hospitals make mistakes, sometimes deadly mistakes. A patient may get the wrong medication or even undergo surgery intended for another person.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 20, 2013: Hospital hierarchy; Error reporting  »

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

Standards of Care Update

The Standards of Care Act, our bill to establish patient assignments limits, had its third hearing today in the House Health and Human Services Policy committee. The bill passed with amendments, despite serious objections from the hospitals. As amended, the bill has a narrower focus than its original version, but a delivers a victory for patients and nurses by laying a strong foundation for documenting the crisis of patient risk in Minnesota that nurses witness every day. In fact, Committee Chair Rep. Tina Liebling of Rochester offered a strong endorsement of MNA’s concerns when she stated “there is broad agreement that there is a problem.”

By no means, however is the work done.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, March 16, 2013  »

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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

One Step Further.  Standards of Care Act Passes Another Legislative Committee   Patients and families are closer to having their risks reduced in hospitals, as the House Committee on Government Operations gave its endorsement of the Standards of Care Act today.  The bill requires hospitals to provide staffing according to nationally-established standards.

Nurses Courtney Lucht, Eric Tronnes and Juli Uzlik testifed about the need to have a foundation of standards because hospitals are not providing even the minimum staff they promise.  Tronnes described fruitless meetings with hospital management in Staffing Advisory Committees because “productivity invariably trumps safe nursing care.”

Next step for the bill is likely to be the House committee on Health Policy.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 6, 2013; Standards of Care Act moves forward; MI nurses propose staffing legislation  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Study:  Management Not in Tune with Quality Improvement   It appears that while hospital management asserts that patient-centred care is important and invests in patient satisfaction and patient experience surveys, our findings suggest that the majority do not have a structured plan for promoting improvement of patient satisfaction and engaging clinicians in the process.

HEALTH CARE

Kids, Seniors Prone to MRSA Infections Depending on Season   Children have a greater risk for infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in summer while seniors have a greater risk in winter, according to the study published online Feb.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 4, 2013: Chasm between boardroom and bedside; MRSA quirks  »

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

NOTES ON NURSING

Number of Male Nurses Triples Since 1970 A new study from the United States Census Bureau reports the number of male nurses has more than tripled since the 1970s. Back then, about 2.7 percent of registered nurses were men. The new study, which tracked data through 2011, finds that men now make up 9.6 percent of all employed nurses in the United States – about 330,000 men in total.

Intubation in ICU Linked to PTSD   Mechanical  ventilation may prompt severe hallucinatory or delirious symptoms for patients  in the ICU, who even as long as two years later might experience symptoms  associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, February 27, 2013: It’s RNing Men; Progress for state health improvement program  »