FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(c) 612-741-0662
sam.fettig@mnnurses.orgLauren Bloomquist
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org
Cuts by North Memorial executives will leave vulnerable patients at risk because they cannot pay more
(St. Paul) – March 20, 2024 – Today, North Memorial Health executives announced their intent to close mental health services and the neonatal intensive care unit in Robbinsdale and to lay off more than 100 hospital employees, including many Registered Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) and other healthcare workers.
The following is a statement from the Minnesota Nurses Association:
“These layoffs are devastating for the nurses and other healthcare workers dedicated to this community, but it is ultimately patients who will suffer. These closures by North Memorial executives follow a clear pattern: close services that do not make enough money – especially birth and newborn care and mental health – in the most at-need communities who cannot afford to pay more and who lack easy access to alternative options for care.
“This pattern can be seen in the recent closures by Allina Health executives of pediatric inpatient beds at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, adolescent mental health services at United hospital in St. Paul, and labor and delivery services at Regina Hospital in Hastings. North Memorial executives are reading from the same corporate playbook.
“When hospital executives plead poverty, it is not for lack of millions in revenues made from patient bills and medical debts that climb higher every year. It is a question of priorities. And with more than $15 million for compensation to executives and top employees but nothing for sick infants and those needing mental health services in Robbinsdale, North Memorial executives have made their priorities clear.”
This year at the state legislature, MNA nurses seek passage of the Healing Greed Agenda, a legislative package to hold hospital executives accountable to patients, the public, and healthcare workers. The agenda includes a proposal to require more prior notice when executives slate a hospital for closure or propose service reductions, unit closures, healthcare consolidations, or other related changes. The bill would require at least one public hearing to be held in the community affected by a planned closure or consolidation, as well as strict fines for hospitals that violate the law.
Sounds like a discrimination move.