FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amber Smigiel
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org
Lauren Bloomquist
(c) 651-376-9709
lauren.bloomquist@mnnurses.org
Nurse organizing follows similar successful efforts by nurses in Duluth at Essentia 1st, 2nd and 3rd Street Clinics and Patient Flow Hospital, Miller Hill Surgery Center and Solvay Hospice House, St. Mary’s-Superior Wisconsin, and ongoing organizing by Essentia East Market Advanced Practice Providers (APPs)
(St. Paul) – July 1, 2024 – On Friday, June 28, 2024, nurses at PrairieCare’s inpatient psychiatric hospital in Brooklyn Park announced that they have organized and filed for an election vote to be represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA). The move follows recent successful organizing by nurses at Essentia Health Duluth Clinic 1st Street , 2nd Street Clinic and 3rd Street Clinics and Patient Flow Hospital, Miller Hill Surgery Center, nurses and other healthcare workers at Solvay Hospice House, and St. Mary’s-Superior Wisconsin. These nurses also join East Market Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) who continue to seek union recognition at Essentia.
“I have been a nurse at PrairieCare since 2020 and I want to unionize to have a voice in the quality of care that I can give to our patients,” said Lindsey Pautsch, RN at PrairieCare in Brooklyn Park. “In recent years, the demands for mental health care have increased, and there has been an influx of patients due to other facilities closing. We have had to do more work with less.”
Nurses at PrairieCare in Brooklyn Park are seeking a union to be able to collaboratively negotiate employment terms, work conditions, and patient care standards, thus leading to greater job satisfaction, nurse retention, and quality patient care. The nurses filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board last week; election dates have yet to be determined.
“We are unionizing so that we can have a voice in our workplace and have our concerns heard,” said Elyse Jorgenson, RN at PrairieCare in Brooklyn Park. “Our nurses are experiencing burnout, frustration, and compassion fatigue due to how thin we have been spread. We deserve to be heard, to make changes that positively impact our work environment, and have the ability to safely care for our young patients.”
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