Politics (Page 14)

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In: Activism, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

NOTES ON NURSING


“The American Nurse” is a love story for the profession.“I thought I was making a book that would celebrate nurses. I ended up gaining a better understanding of the country through the lens of the American nurse. I have altered my thinking about religion; I have completely changed my feelings about end-of-life.”

LABOR UPDATES

The ethics gap keeps widening for big money – BP Fined a Record $4B; Displayed “Profit Over Prudence”   Federal officials blamed BP’s culture of profit for the spill. “The explosion of the rig was a disaster that resulted from BP’s culture of privileging profit over prudence,” said Assistant Atty.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, November 16, 2012: New book is love story to nursing profession  »

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HEALTH CARE

In the continuing meningitis outbreak scandal, today’s NY Times has an expose on how high-powered corporate influence helped drug compounders avoid tighter rules.

Cost of Providing Health Benefits Rises at Lowest Level in 15 Years   …. the rest of the story is that the low rate is directly due to employers forcing high-deductible plans on workers.

NOTES ON NURSING

Sutter, HCA Nurses to Strike November 20   At the Sutter hospitals, the walkout is in response to demands by Sutter corporate officials for sweeping reductions in patient care protections and nurses’ contract standards at these hospitals.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 15, 2012: 49.7M in poverty; More workers face high-deductible health plans  »

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NOTES ON NURSING


MNA members are gathering at the headquarters office for a 3-day leadership skills tune up.   Read what Joe Howard said about his recent experience at an earlier training.

U.S. Rate of Premature Births Still at a “C;” Ranked with Somalia, Thailand and Turkey     The United States is slowly reducing its rate of premature births, bringing the rate to 11.7 percent in 2011, but the figure is still higher than public health advocates believe it should be.

Many Hospital Patients Receive Too Much Acetaminophen    Acetaminophen – sold as Tylenol – is a common painkiller on its own, but also an ingredient in stronger narcotics such as Percocet and Vicodin.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 14, 2012: Too much Tylenol?; $10M tax break to hospitals  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Organizing, Politics

HEALTH CARE

Hospitals Mine Patient Data for Self-Promotion   You might not know it when you seek care from some of central Ohio’s hospital systems, but your health information makes you a potential marketing target.

NOTES ON NURSING

Patients Shy About Requesting Providers Wash Hands   Only 64 percent and 54 percent of patients indicated that they would feel comfortable asking nurses or physicians to wash their hands, respectively. Still fewer patients (14 percent) reported having ever asked a healthcare worker to wash their hands.

LABOR NEWS

WalMart Workers Organize Action for Black Friday   Walmart workers are trying to organize a single massive strike on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, and the “official” start of Christmas shopping season).
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 13, 2012: Hospitals mine data for self-promotion  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Rep. Erin Murphy Is New House Majority Leader   House Democrats have elected former MNA Executive Director, Erin Murphy as House Majority Leader.

Hurricane Sandy Update   Aid to victims of hurricane Sandy is still very much needed.  The AFL-CIO is coordinating with United Way to raise funds to help families devastated by the disaster.  Here’s the link to help.

LABOR NEWS

NY Subway Repairs Border on “the Edge of Magic”    Workers traversed darkened, slippery tunnels, inspecting sludgy tracks, equipment and third rails. Even the subway map itself was reimagined, as bright lines were faded to represent downed service.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 9, 2012: Congrats Rep. Erin Murphy  »

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HEALTH CARE

Hospitals Gamble on Urgent Care To Keep Patients Healthy  When Stephen Wheeler realized he had an aching, swollen finger, he called his primary care doctor, who works for MedStar Health. The doctor referred him to PromptCare, an urgent care clinic owned by the same hospital chain and located in a strip mall in the Baltimore suburbs.

Obama’s Health Care Law Turns into a Sprint 
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 8, 2012:  »

Its place assured alongside Medicare and Medicaid, President Barack Obama’s health care law is now in a sprint to the finish line, with just 11 months to go before millions of uninsured people can start signing up for coverage. 

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LABOR NEWS

Election Results are a Victory For All Families   AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the Obama win moves nation on a “path of sanity and shared prosperity.”

After Winning Back Legislature, Dems Take Care Not to “Overstep.”    Spending the last two years in the minority has been a sobering experience for DFLers. But it’s also been educational. They’ve seen what happens when a majority party jams things like marriage and voting amendments onto the ballo without bipartisan support.

HEALTH CARE

Affordable Health Care Act Survives – Barely   Preserving the ACA was not a case of America putting its best foot forward. 
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 7, 2012: Elections Reflections; Long shifts=RN burnout  »

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LABOR

Union workers help with Hurricane Sandy cleanup: Along one the hardest-hit stretches of New York waterfront, union workers fixed Internet connections, disconnected gas pipes to prevent explosions and patrolled the streets in cop cars and ambulances.

Nurses and building operators at two Sonoma County, California hospitals have walked off the job in a three-day strike to protest wages and other issues.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 5, 2012 – Union Workers Clean Up Post-Sandy, CA RNs on Strike  »

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LABOR

The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has canceled concerts through the end of the year. Management locked out musicians Oct. 21, and the union on Wednesday unanimously rejected the current contract proposal.

From In These Times: Mitt Romney’s 9-Point Plan to Kill Unions.

In California: Hundreds of registered nurses walked off the job Thursday morning at seven East Bay hospitals affiliated with Sutter Health in a longstanding dispute over wages, benefits and service cutbacks.

HEALTH CARE

Representatives from the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United held a press conference at the State House Thursday to brief reporters on a new law to ban the dangerous practice of mandatory overtime as an alternative to providing safe registered nurse staffing levels in the state’s acute care hospitals.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 2, 2012 – CA Nurses on Strike; SPCO Lockout Continues  »

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LABOR

Labor and community groups are gearing up to defeat a measure on the California ballot in November aimed at undermining the ability of unions to financially support election campaigns.

State and national labor unions are cranking up the fundraising in an attempt to kill a proposed change to the Illinois Constitution.

In California, up to 3,200 registered nurses will go on strike beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday. at three Alta Bates Summit Medical Center facilities in Oakland and Berkeley, Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, San Leandro Hospital, Sutter Delta in Antioch, and Sutter Solano in Vallejo.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, October 31, 2012 – 3,200 California RNs Prepare to Strike  »