Minnesota Nurses fighting for safe staffing levels for patients held an informational picket on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. Legislative leaders from the area joined them to echo their concerns that patient safety is a concern.
… Read more about: Video: Minnesota Nurses Hold Informational Picket at North Memorial Hospital »
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Nurses at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale are on the front lines of a battle for safe staffing and safe care that could have a major impact on MNA members and patients throughout the state.
North Memorial management wants to cut nursing staff to dangerously low levels by increasing the number of patients each nurse cares for in the majority of units in the hospital. Nurses are fighting the plan at every step of the way.
“Our patients deserve the best possible care,” said North Memorial MNA Co-Chair Mary Turner.
… Read more about: North Memorial Medical Center nurses protest unsafe staffing plan »
WDIO-TV Reports nurses in Virginia say the hospital won’t retain nurses if their current contract offer stands.
… Read more about: Video: Nurses tell Essentia Virginia hospitals to offer a better contract »
On Thursday, October 17, MNA nurses are taking their concerns directly to management at Sanford hospitals. At Bagley, nurses are concerned they’re being asked to cover more patient assignments for each nurse and doctor. At Thief River Falls, nurses are concerned their own health insurance benefits are being cut. In Bemidji, nurses are concerned that untrained staff are monitoring patients on telemetry equipment.
… Read more about: Bagley nurses deliver message to hospital management »
Nurses walked around the Mayo’s Mankato facility for 12 hours to let patients know they’re worried that staffing levels have put them at risk.
… Read more about: Mankato nurses take to the streets for patients »
For the second time this month, financial experts are predicting a tough year ahead for the non-profit hospital industry. First, Standard & Poor’s rating services analyst said profit ratios will be down in 2013 (link here) Now, Moody’s Investors Service is saying expenses outpaced revenue last year as patient revenue slipped by half a percent (found here). What’s more, both reports say that efficiencies in hospital business were actualized last year and won’t produce any more savings in the future. In other words, hospitals got lean and can’t get leaner.
Add to that the paralyzing fear many hospital CEOs are feeling over the effects of the Affordable Care Act, reduced payments from many insurance companies (such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield), and reduced government dollars for patients who are readmitted.
… Read more about: Hospitals bleeding money? »
Minnesota nurses are staffing the State Fair again to speak to the same people they care for every day. Patients in Minnesota are at risk, and their safety stands to improve if they’re know how their hospitals are measuring up. Thanks to the work nurses did during the last legislative session, consumers will have more information before deciding where to go for care, and, once they access that, they’ll see the real situation of safety in hospitals.
Nurses are reminding fairgoers that they already have a website where they can check hospital quality for a number of different outcomes.
… Read more about: Minnesota State Fair: Safety on a stick »
Hospitals are bending over backward to increase their patient satisfaction scores, and, especially now, as it may affect their ability to bill patients. Hospitals are adding room service, suites, and even “care guides” to help patients meet health and recovery goals.
The answer to patient satisfaction isn’t a new piano in the lobby, it’s right inside each patient’s room. It’s the nurse. Nurses say they’re often asked, “can you just sit with me a while?” by a patient. Or the patient will even ask a nurse who’s charting if he or she can just turn around and face them while they have to also look at the computer.
… Read more about: Patient satisfaction is easy. Talk to a nurse. »
Bravo to Theresa Brown, RN, for writing an eye-opening Op-Ed, exposing the dangers faced by patients when not enough nurses are on duty. The New York Times published her opinion on Sun., Aug. 18, which puts this issue front and center, where it should be. Read the OpEd here.
We encourage you to read the entire piece, along with the Comments Section AND participate in the online discussion.
Brown mentions only one piece of legislation being considered by Congress to address the issue of poor staffing levels, but it is important to know that efforts are being led by nursing communities (including National Nurses United) to advance other bills on the federal and state levels as well.
… Read more about: When No One is On Call »
Next fall, patients will be able to report adverse events in a limited time. They’ll be able to initiate an investigation with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality if they feel they were given the wrong medication or suffered a negative patient outcome. The report will then go to the RAND Corporation and the ECRI Institute, which investigates medical errors.
While originally supportive of the idea, the American Hospital Association touted the empowerment of patients when the idea was originally proposed last year. Original story is here.
Now that the program is about to begin comes the warning that patients don’t have the background to assess what’s an adverse event and may merely complain when they’re not satisfied.
… Read more about: What if patients determined an adverse event? »