Legislative Policy (Page 12)

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In: Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Politics, Unsafe Staffing

Standards of Care Campaign

Yesterday, Governor Dayton signed HF588/SF471 into law after it passed its final hurdle on the first day of Nurses Week when the House took a last procedural vote on Monday.  The bill requires the Department of Health to conduct a thorough study of the correlation between nurse staffing and patient health outcomes, and mandates every Minnesota hospital to publicly report their staffing plans.

When the study is complete, we will have Minnesota-specific data to underscore the stories nurses have been telling legislators for years: that unsafe staffing is a serious problem in Minnesota hospitals. Our ultimate goal is still a minimum standard of care for patient assignments in Minnesota.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, May 10, 2013  »

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In: Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Patient Safety, Politics, Unsafe Staffing

 

Standards of Care/Staffing Disclosure Act

The Standards of Care/Staffing Disclosure Act (SF471/HF588), creating a Department of Health study of the correlation between nurse staffing and patient outcomes and requiring public reporting of hospital staffing, passed the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, and passed the full Senate on Thursday. Thanks to our Senate author, Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis), for his work on the bill. The bill will next head back to the House for a final procedural vote, and then to the Governor whom is expected to sign the bill into law.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update May 3, 2013  »

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In: Activism, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Uncategorized

LABOR UPDATES

CEO Pay Gap Up 1000% Since 1950    Today Fortune 500 CEOs make 204 times regular workers on average, Bloomberg found. The ratio is up from 120-to-1 in 2000, 42-to-1 in 1980 and 20-to-1 in 1950.

Worldwide May Day Rallies Thousands of low-paid workers are rallying in the streets on May Day to demand better pay and improved working conditions a week after a Bangladesh building collapse that was a grim reminder of how lax safety regulations make work a danger in poor countries.

Health Care Dominates Highest Paying Jobs (no surprise:  nurses excluded) in America   Anesthesiologists top the list with average annual pay of $232,830 as of 2012, the latest year for which official figures are available from the U.S.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, May 1, 2013: May Day!  »

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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: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

Boston Nurses Talk of Caring for Wounded and Families of Marathon Bombing    The screams and cries of bloody marathon bombing victims still haunt the nurses who treated them one week ago. They did their jobs as they were trained to do, putting their own fears in a box during their 12-hour shifts so they could better comfort their patients.

HEALTH CARE

Seniors Get Hung Up in Health Care Scams   Many of the fraudsters seem to be preying on the public’s confusion over the massive changes taking place in the nation’s health care system.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 22, 2013: Boston RNs talk; The jobless trap  »

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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: Legislative Policy, National Nurses United, Robin Hood Tax

Media Advisory:
Congressman Keith Ellison

MEDIA ADVISORY: Rep. Keith Ellison to Unveil Inclusive Prosperity Act Outside Capitol

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2013
Press Contacts
Jeremy Slevin– (202) 225-4755

WASHINGTON –Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Chief Deputy Whip, will announce the reintroduction of his Inclusive Prosperity Act tomorrow, which adds a tax of a fraction of a percent on transactions done by Wall Street firms and stock traders. In 2011, 40 countries had a similar tax, as did the U.S. until 1966. This tax would reduce harmful financial market speculation, discourage high-volume, high-speed trading, and slow down the proliferation of ever more complex derivatives.
… Read more about: MEDIA ADVISORY: Rep. Keith Ellison, NNU’s Jean Ross to Unveil Inclusive Prosperity Act  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Healthcare, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING
Tentative Agreement for St. Lukes Nurses in Duluth   The Minnesota Nurses Association announced late Tuesday that Duluth nurses came to a tentative contract agreement with St. Luke’s hospital that would raise wages 4.5 percent. The three-year agreement would go into effect in July and run into June 2016.  View pictures of the great solidarity action  and a video of MNA’s powerful opening statement

Alarm Fatigue Puts Patients at Risk    The Joint Commission issued a “sentinel event alert” to hospitals, saying that the problem of “alarm fatigue” can jeopardize patients, and it urged hospitals “to take a focused look at this serious patient safety issue.’”  Watch MNA President Linda Hamilton’s interview on Fox 9 News.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 10, 2013: Tentative agreement for Duluth RNs; Alarm fatigue puts patients at risk  »

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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  »