Minnesota Nurses Association (Page 24)

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nlrb-appointments-unconstitutional

Nurses, autoworkers, janitors, and all union-organized workers depend on one thing to maintain fair working conditions with their employers: the enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act.  Recently, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals struck down President Obama’s appointment of three members to the National Labor Relations Board while the US Senate was on spring break. While this could be just a Washington power grab towards the President or organized labor, or both, but the effect is workers will need to be even more vigilant about their rights in the workplace.

Workers  need a staffed and effective NLRB to decide cases that involve employers violating the National labor Relations Act pertaining to working conditions, organizing efforts, and collective bargaining.  
… Read more about: Union workers caught in middle while NLRB politics shakes out  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

OpEd: Report Medical Errors and Caregiver Injuries   Every 24 hours across the nation there are, on average, 4,658 newly identified hospital-acquired infections, 1,369 patient falls and perhaps as many as 800,000 medication errors. Furthermore, injuries to caregivers are among the highest rates of any occupation, with as many as 950 injuries per day in the United States.

HEALTH CARE

A Hospital Bill Without the Hospital    To many people this may be the equivalent of billing for oral surgery after a teeth cleaning. But Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, which owns the dermatology practice, said Reed’s insurer allows the Burlington hospital to charge patients an overhead fee when they are treated by doctors it employs — even when their offices are not located in the hospital but in a medical building 1½ miles away.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, January 28, 2013: Medical errors & caregiver injuries need Presidential priority  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

When Paying It Forward Pays Us Back    One such example is the Transitional Care Model (TCM), which provides planning and home follow-up by trained nurses for chronically ill Medicare patients during and after hospitalization. The TCM illustrates a key point. Often, to save money you need to change systems, or add new functions, not just cut things.

Nurse Staffing, Bedsores Remain on Parkland Problem List    Parkland Memorial Hospital has completed 94 percent of the quality and patient safety targets necessary for it to continue receiving federal funding, but the institution continues to struggle in the areas of nurse staffing, timely patient discharges and bedsore prevention, according to a report given to the hospital’s Board of Managers Tuesday.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, January 23, 2013: When paying it forward pays us back; Prolong CPR  »

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For Immediate Release – January 22, 2013
Minnesota Nurses say Move Minnesota Forward

 

MNA Supports Governor’s Budget Proposal that Puts Middle Class Families First

For information:  Rick Fuentes 651.414.2863

612.741.0662

Jan Rabbers 651-414-2861

612.860.6658

 
St. Paul – The Minnesota Nurses Association supports Governor Dayton’s budget plan to invest in the state by fixing the broken system of raising revenue and tip the scales back in favor of the middle class.

“This plan is the safe, responsible and right thing to do,” said MNA President Linda Hamilton, RN, BSN,  “and it will help to get our economy back on track.”
The Governor’s plan invests in the middle class by providing care to those who need it most while investing in middle class priorities, such as education and job creation.
… Read more about: Minnesota Nurses say Move Minnesota Forward  »

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Staffing for Patient Safety

 

MNA lobbyists are meeting with legislators on a daily basis to move our campaign for patient safety forward. We continue to make progress toward our goal. Earlier this week, members of the MNA Government Affairs Committee visited the Capitol and met with legislators to talk about their experiences at the bedside and the need to ensure that every patient in Minnesota can get the nursing care they need. We will continue to bring you news about this campaign as it unfolds. In the meantime, use the MNA Grassroots Action Center to contact your state senator and representative and let them know how nurse staffing affects your patients.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update – January 18, 2013  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Nursing Receives Unproportionately Low Percentage of NIH Budget   Specifically, nurses get 0.75% of the US National Institutes of Health budget, even though nurses make up the majority of health professionals in the US.

Nurse-Led Recycling Initiative Reduces OR Waste   Pallotta and her OR colleagues were spurred to action when they read a study that found a large proportion of OR products could be recycled. What followed was a nurse-driven, evidence-based study and analysis of HackensackUMC’s practices and how they could be altered.

LABOR UPDATES

MnSCU, 4-year Faculty Reach Contract Agreement    The agreement includes a 2.2 percent pay raise, retroactive to last fall, said Nancy Black, president of the Inter Faculty Organization.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, January 16, 2013: Where’s the love from NIH for RNs?  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Improving Nurses’ Work Environment Can Help Reduce Readmissions    The study, led by Matthew McHugh, PhD , JD, MPH, RN, FAAN, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, found that  increased nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and a good work environment for nurses were associated with reduced 30-day readmission rates for Medicare patients with heart failure, myocardial infarction, and pneumonia. Funding for the study came from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholars program.

New Grads Finding Rough Road to Employment    Since the recession, health care has been the single biggest sector for job growth, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to get hired.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, January 14, 2013: More Nurses Mean Fewer Readmissions  »

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Legislative Session Begins

On Tuesday, the 2013 Session of the Minnesota Legislature began. Both the House and Senate have introduced their first key pieces of legislation:

  • The House and Senate each introduced a bill to establish a health insurance exchange, a key part of the Affordable Care Act that will provide an online marketplace for Minnesotans to compare different health insurance policies. This is an opportunity to improve access to health care and lower costs for uninsured and underinsured Minnesotans. The bill was crafted by a bipartisan group including chief House author Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL-Inver Grove Heights), Representative Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) and Representative Greg Davids (R-Preston).

    • … Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, January 11, 2013  »

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HEALTH CARE

Poor Performance Means Less Medicare Reimbursement for Most Minnesota Hospitals Medicare is revamping its payment system for hospitals as part of an effort to make them accountable on quality. The latest change will give bonuses and penalties to hospitals based on how well they performed on quality measures.

Health Care and Pursuit of a Profit Make a Poor Mix   A shareholder might even applaud the creativity with which profit-seeking institutions go about seeking profit. But the consequences of this pursuit might not be so great for other stakeholders in the system — patients, for instance.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, January 9, 2012: Medicare Penalizes MN hospitals; For profit=poor care  »

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Jodi Jones Wins Arbitration AwardJodi Jones, a state psychiatric nurse with 25 years of experience, has won her arbitration case with the  Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter, Minnesota, including re-instatement of former rank, position, and back pay.  In addition, disciplinary proceedings will also be removed from her personnel record.

Jones was terminated for an alleged error in theraputic judgment.  Later, her employer changed the reason to a different reason.

For her judgment and care, Jones was disciplined and let go, but the arbitrator sustained the grievance in every particular on all points and particulars.  He even took issue with the state’s case and noted it had failed its burden by “a wide margin.”

“If we didn’t have a (nurses) union,” Jones said, “I would have no chance of getting my job back. 
… Read more about: MNA wins job and back pay for St. Peter Nurse  »