MNA NewsScan, May 13, 2013: Fund set for RNs, colleagues lost in limo fire; ND highest in worker death

NOTES ON NURSING

Angels Fund Set Up for RNs and Co-Workers Lost in Limo Fire   This year’s Nurses Week was sadly darkened by the death of two RNs and three other caregivers in a tragic limousine fire on the San Mateo Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area.

UMass Nurses Will Strike Over Poor Patient Care Conditions    After posting more than $88 million in profits, UMass Memorial Medical Center has slashed its nursing and support staff in the last two years.

LABOR UPDATES

Dairy Queen Offers Grads Their First Job – Without Pay    Edina-based Dairy Queen is giving new college grads the chance to shill for its Orange Julius brand.

North Dakota Leads Nation in Rate of Worker Deaths   North Dakota had a workplace fatality rate that was more than three times greater than the national average and more than five times greater than Minnesota’s rate.

HEALTH CARE

Health Care Plan Needed for End of Life   Never in human existence has dying been more complicated. Before the onset of modern medicine, most people died quickly from an acute event such as trauma or the effects of infection. Today most deaths are a slow process of decline.

The Skyhigh Price of Chemotherapy:  Why Do Cancer Drugs Cost So Much?  Overall, cancer drug prices are skyrocketing. Of the 12 drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for various cancer conditions in 2012, 11 were priced above $100,000 for a year of treatment.

Study:  Nearly One-Third of All Death Certificates Are Wrong   As to why doctors were reporting inaccurate causes of death, it actually appears to be a weirdly bureaucratic reason: Three-quarters said the system they use in New York City would not accept what they thought to be the real cause of death.