MNA Daily NewsScan, October 4, 2012: Prime new evidence that ratios work

HEALTH CARE

Presidential Debate Review  On Health Care, Two Visions with Their Own Sets of Facts.  If there was one area where Mitt Romney and President Obama sometimes seemed to inhabit parallel universes at their debate on Wednesday night — with separate sets of assumptions, beliefs and even facts — it was on the question of health care and government’s role in providing it.

NOTES ON NURSING

Another Study; More Proof Ratios Work   AHRQ:  State-Mandated Nurse Staffing Levels Alleviate Workloads, Leading to Lower Patient Mortality and Higher Nurse Satisfaction.  The legislation has increased nurse staffing levels and created more reasonable workloads for nurses in California hospitals, leading to fewer patient deaths and higher levels of job satisfaction than in other states without mandated staffing ratios.

Nursing Heroics Start Early     Ortiz, who graduated with a nursing degree in May and was licensed in August, instinctively ran toward the screams Sunday evening after she heard the distinct sounds of a crash. “I needed to see if everyone was OK and if anyone needed my help.”

LABOR NEWS

Baystate Nurses Set to Strike Oct. 5   The 209 nurses of Baystate Franklin Medical Center will conduct a one-day strike on Friday,  Oct. 5 after a negotiating session held Wednesday night broke down without a settlement.

B.C. Nurses’ Contract = 3% Wage Increase; Adds 2100 Nurses  The B.C. Nurses’ Union released details Tuesday of the two-year agreement  reached last week, saying the wage hike will take effect April 1 and the deal  will add 2,125 more nurses to the health system by 2016.

Breaking News:  Wal-Mart Workers on Strike   Dozens of workers at Southern California stores launched a one-day work stoppage in protest of alleged retaliation against their attempts to organize.