Sanford

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In: Fairview, Member Blog, Nurse Staffing, Politics, Sanford

By Deb Meyer, RN, MNA Governmental Affairs Commissioner

On October 24, I was invited to join a round table with the United States Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Jonathan Kanter. As an MNA Governmental Affairs Commissioner, this was an opportunity to continue in my leadership role and explain how corporatization affects Minnesota communities. It was an awesome experience!

Small business owners, farmers and a variety of other people told their stories. He really listened to everyone. My focus was on the Sanford/Fairview merger and how Worthington Regional Hospital changed after it was bought by Sanford. 
… Read more about: The corporatization of our communities: How nurses can speak out and make change  »

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In: Home, Informational Picket, Press Releases, Sanford

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

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

Nurses have called off their planned picket, and will not file unfair labor practice charges against Sanford Health pending contract ratification by members     

(Bemidji) – March 9, 2023 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center today announced that they have reached a tentative agreement with Sanford Health on a new three-year contract. Nurses have called off the informational picket they had planned for Monday, March 13, 2023, and will not file unfair labor practice charges against Sanford Health pending contract ratification by nurses.
… Read more about: Nurses at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center reach tentative contract agreement with management  »

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In: Fairview, Sanford

This blog is an excerpt from a Letter to the Editor written by four MNA nurses and published in the Worthington Globe newspaper. MNA members across Minnesota are speaking out in opposition to the proposed Sanford/Fairview merger.

To the Editor:

The recent delay of the Sanford/Fairview merger and letter from Sanford Worthington CEO Jennifer Weg prompted us, a group of retired Sanford Worthington nurses, to write.  Some of us were at the Jan. 25 meeting held in Worthington, hosted by the Minnesota Attorney General’s office.

While we agree with the numerous Sanford Worthington managers and others who enthusiastically praised Sanford’s contribution to the community, we, as former employees, are perplexed by the lack of attention given to Sanford Worthington hospital itself.
… Read more about: Don’t overlook needs of Sanford Worthington Hospital  »

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In: Fairview, Home, Press Releases, Sanford

MEDIA ADVISORY 

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

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

(St. Paul) – March 7, 2022 – At 5:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, healthcare workers, patients, and University of Minnesota medical students will hold a media availability to speak out against the proposed merger of M Health Fairview and Sanford Health. The media availability will take place ahead of a 6:00 p.m. Minnesota Senate hearing on the proposed merger.

Since the proposed merger was announced late last year, Minnesotans who work and receive care at potentially impacted facilities have raised concerns that this merger could increase costs and limit access to health services for patients, threaten jobs and working conditions for workers, and consolidate even more corporate control over our healthcare system.
… Read more about: Workers, patients, students to hold media availability ahead of Senate hearing on proposed Sanford-Fairview merger  »

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In: Fairview, Home, Press Releases, Sanford

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

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

New study from MNA includes review of service closures by Sanford following past hospital takeovers  
(St. Paul) – February 21, 2023 – The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) today released a new report
… Read more about: New report highlights dangerous consequences of corporate healthcare mergers, concerning record of Sanford and Fairview        » on the proposed merger of Sanford Health and M Health Fairview into a massive new healthcare chain. The 24-page report includes a review of scholarly studies on the effects of healthcare mergers on patients, workers and communities, as well as a review of the corporate policies pushed by hospital executives at Sanford and Fairview, including closures of facilities and units with their focus on the bottom line.

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In: Fairview, Home, Hospitals, Press Releases, Sanford

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Sam Fettig
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.orgLauren Nielsen
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.nielsen@mnnurses.org

Proposed merger would put combined corporate health giant under command of Sanford, which recently paid a $49.5 million golden parachute to CEO who spread disinformation
Announcement follows another proposed corporate merger between Essentia Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System 

(St. Paul) – November 15, 2022 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) today announced their opposition to the proposed merger of M Health Fairview and Sanford Health. The move would put control of the new healthcare conglomerate under the control of Sanford executive leadership in South Dakota, the health chain that recently paid out a $49.5 million golden parachute to their disgraced former CEO after he spread medical disinformation.
… Read more about: Threatened merger of Sanford, M Health Fairview would put corporate expansion ahead of patient care  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Sanford

By Diane Scott, RN

MNA Member

We all know the stories. A mom couldn’t get her son to the right specialist because it was out of the hospital’s “network.” Another mom couldn’t get occupational or physical therapy for her daughter without having to fight like hell to get it. How many times have MNA nurses cried at work and heard the stories of their long fights with their employer because their children could not get the healthcare they deserve? What about the non-contract employees and patients who can’t fight?

On October 24, 2017, MNA decided to fight back. We filed a second step class action grievance on behalf of all Registered Nurses working at Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota Bemidji.
… Read more about: The Union Difference  »

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In: Home, Sanford, Unsafe Staffing

By Mathew Keller, RN JD
Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

Limousine service, upgraded television sets, nurse-to-patient “scripts,” gourmet food service, nurse uniform requirements. Hospitals all over the U.S. are offering more “customer-centric” patient care in order to increase patient satisfaction scores, which are becoming more and more important to raise and maintain Medicare reimbursement amounts.

These efforts, however, often have unintended consequences.

In the first place, customer-centric interventions rarely (if ever) improve the quality of care patients receive. Rather, they merely improve patients’ perceptions of care.
… Read more about: Sanford Health Gets it Backwards  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Sanford

Nurses flex collective muscle with three ratifications, two tentative agreements within five days

Celebratory emails were lighting up MNA inboxes for five straight days as announcement after announcement arrived of contract victories all over the state.
146 nurses at Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Austin, MN started the buzz with a contract ratification on Wed., May 28. 114 Mayo colleagues 40 miles away approved their agreement just one day later. On Monday, it was 287 nurses at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center in northwest Minnesota who ratified their contract.
The run continued on Tuesday, with two notices of tentative agreements.
… Read more about: Monster Week for Nurse Contracts Across Minnesota  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Sanford

RN-RunThief River Falls nurses beat Boston off the starting line of the running season this year, and may have Beantown trying hard to catch up.

MNA members of the Sanford – Thief River Falls Medical Center bargaining unit are celebrating the success of their inaugural 5k RN Run on Saturday, April 19 to raise funds for the community’s D.A.R.E. program.

Nearly 60 runners participated in the event and nurses were able to deliver $836 to the organization dedicated to drug abuse resistance education.

MNA Co-Chair Tiffany Eidelbes credited nurse organizers Kayla Knutson and Karey Johnson with imagining and executing an idea that brought a sizable crowd out for the festivities.
… Read more about: Thief River Falls “RN Run” Raises Funds and Fun  »