MNA Daily NewsScan, November 12, 2012: Nurses in short supply for Vets; Twilight for Twinkies?

LABOR NOTES

Tax Fairness Rally   WHEN: Monday, November 12th at 11:00am – Noon
WHERE: S 8th Street and Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.

Twilight for Twinkies?  Striking workers formed a picket line at the company’s Sacramento, Calif., plant Sunday, two days after the walkout began when the company imposed a contract that would cut wages by 8 percent.

NOTES ON NURSING

Nurses in Short Supply for Veterans   Samiley’s specialty at the VA’s primary care clinic is homeless veterans. Most of his patients served in the Vietnam War and come with diabetes or hypertension as well as mental health needs. His caseload is heavy: He cares for 800 people, mostly men – partly because of unfilled VA nursing jobs.

HEALTH CARE

West Side Clinic Set to Open to Address Needs of Poor, Uninsured   The new home for the 30-year-old East Side Family Clinic, a project of West Side Community Health Services, will offer not just regular health care but dental and behavioral health services in one building.

The ER Debt Collector Returns     Newton Medical Center (GA) will begin charging a $150 deposit to patients who don’t have a true emergency condition yet still request care from the hospital’s emergency room. Patients with insurance will be required to pay their co-pay or deductible.

ON VETERANS DAY

What Honoring Vets Does and Does Not Mean     This Veterans Day, I want to thank all of the men and women who have bravely served our country. I am so glad for every one of them who has returned home. So very glad. My son didn’t return. U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Matt Lourey served proudly as an instructor pilot in 4-2 ACR during one of the most pivotal periods in the unit’s history.